A Look at the Transportation Situation in Metro Manila and Mitigating Measures to Alleviate the Impacts of Traffic

Abstract

Metro Manila continuously experiences traffic congestion, similar to other growing cities in Asia. Traffic congestion is considered a manifestation of various interrelated urban problems such as the influx of migrants from provinces and local areas, overconcentration of economic, cultural, and social activities in major urban centers, rapid development and uncontrolled urbanization, lack of an efficient public transportation system, increasing growth in car ownership and usage, poor traffic management and control schemes, lack of coordination among government agencies involved in transportation and traffic, and inadequate enforcement of traffic regulations.
This paper presents the current transportation and traffic situation in Metro Manila, as well as the mitigating measures and schemes that are either currently being implemented or proposed to alleviate the impacts of traffic congestion. Among these are the Do-Fixed Project, Do-Existing Project, and Do-Maximum Project, which involve the existing transport network, completion of expressways, skyways, and LRT/MRT lines. These projects should be integrated into the city planning efforts of local government units (LGUs).

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