Manila traffic found costing economy $2 billion each year

TRAFFIC ALONG EDSA and other main roads in Metro Manila is estimated to be costing the economy at least $2 billion a year in terms of lost man-hours, according to a report posted by the World Bank on its Web site last August.

Costs hidden in those queues -- <i>BW File Photo</i>

Costs hidden in those queues -- BW File Photo

The same report noted that traffic also has some costs that cannot be quantified in monetary terms, like causing the premature deaths of about 5,000 Filipinos annually.

The World Bank said in its report that traffic congestion in Metro Manila is costing the country some P277 million daily or approximately $2 billion per year in terms of lost time of workers alone which averages about 41 minutes per worker.

It added that, "in terms of health, air pollution in Metro Manila accounts for almost 5,000 premature deaths and costs about P962 million ($19 million) annually in hospitalization expenses and lost productive time due to illness."

World Bank said EDSA, which carries some 225,000 vehicles each day, including approximately 3,500 franchised and 1,500 unauthorized/illegal buses, is among the worst in terms of traffic congestion in the metropolis. This, it said, is due to inadequate, poorly planned infrastructure; oversupply of vehicles -- buses, in particular -- and poor enforcement of traffic regulations.

World Bank noted that there is currently an "oversupply of buses relative to demand along EDSA." This, it said, leads to intense competition among drivers "[which] worsens the traffic congestion as they jostle for space and tend to stay longer at designated loading and unloading points to wait for passengers."

"At present, it takes an average of five hours to complete a round trip along 24-kilometer EDSA, at an average speed of about 15 kilometers per hour and one minute stop at each of the more than 15 designated bus stops," noted the World Bank report.

The World Bank said that measures taken by the Metro Manila Development Authority to relieve congestion on EDSA have had very limited success. These include one-way systems; reversible traffic lanes; yellow boxes; pedestrian barriers; pedestrian overpasses; EDSA bus lanes; bus stop separators; bus stop segregation schemes; bus waiting sheds; prohibition of provincial buses along EDSA; odd-even scheme; unified vehicle volume reduction scheme; and truck ban and truck routes.

"Many of these schemes fail because they are not properly planned, there is inadequate consultation with road users, they are not properly explained, enforcement is often difficult or unsustainable, and there is little monitoring of their impact," it said. -- BVB

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Manila traffic found costing economy $2 billion each year