FOLLOWING reports tagging the National Capital Region (NCR) as the most congested place in the world in terms of vehicular traffic, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) issued a statement doubting the truthfulness of a traffic index report released by a global data firm.
According to Tomtom Traffic, Metro Manila has the worst traffic worldwide, for which MMDA chairperson Don Artes reacted as if he isn't aware of how notorious NCR is insofar as road congestion is concerned.
He also questioned the company's methodology. Artes doubts the veracity of the report which hinges on "25 minutes and 30 seconds to travel 10 kilometers with over 117 hours lost per year during rush hours."
According to the MMDA chief, Tomtom's data is far from what they have, which makes me wonder -- when was the last time MMDA updated its databank?
Regardless of the methodology and the system used by Tomtom, Artes should have at least taken the report as a jumping board for the MMDA to come up with solutions instead of questioning the transportation data firm.
Data-driven criticisms (constructive as it is) are deemed essential to institute reforms. That's what Artes missed.
But wait, there's more. Artes went overboard by putting the blame on the record-high sales of private vehicles as the number one contributor to vehicle congestion.
According to him, around 3.2 to 3.6 million vehicles travel around Metro Manila for 24 hours. I wonder if Artes is aware that the figure included motorcycles which hardly eat up space in major thoroughfares.
Another thing, the number of motorcycles plying Metro Manila has overtaken the number of private cars and government vehicles combined.
He also missed mentioning the proliferation of the so-called wangwang syndrome which embarks on multi-vehicle convoys often caught on cam violating road regulations in an effort to avoid being caught in a gridlock.
In fairness to the MMDA chief, he seemed right when he hinted at snail-paced leaks and road repairs by both the government and private firms commissioned by utility companies as a major contributor of traffic build-up in the metropolis.
Under these trying times, government officials are expected to lead the way. How? Be role models by veering away from the so-called VIP syndrome.
How do we solve a problem like Metro Manila?
My take: The government should prioritize public transportation like trains or mass transit lines which could ferry more people while taking up less space on the road.
Jeepney phaseout does not solve traffic congestion. Period!
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