Traffic is a lingering problem for the daily commuter. Actually, it has already become the norm of our commute wherever we choose to go in Metro Manila. It is very rare not to experience traffic in the city. One rare instance is when Manny Pacquiao has a fight but aside from that, it’s “carmageddon” almost every day especially during Christmas season.
At the start of 2015, a worldwide ranking of traffic was released, and the Philippines was in the top ten.
So, is there a way to beat Manila traffic?
Under the Pinoy Sun, a YouTube channel that discusses about trending topics in the Philippines, posted a video where they did an experiment which comes the fastest in beating Manila traffic. They tested out four options simultaneously:
- Man – this involves walking and running from source to destination
- Car – driving your own car
- MRT – riding the MRT
- App-based Car Services – taking Uber
Video caption: As individuals who face the traffic everyday in our daily commute, be it in our personal cars, public transportation or trying out the latest technological development. We try to analyze and see, what is the fastest way to get from one destination in Manila to another point, by pitting MAN vs CAR vs MRT vs UBER and see who can get the fastest from Valero street in Makati to Paragon Plaza in Ortigas. A 5km journey from one business district to another during rush hour.
Watch the video below to see who is the fastest.
After checking out the video, it seemed like the perfect scenario to test this out because it was raining, which instantly transforms Manila streets into giant parking lots. Almost every is on a standstill.
The result, based from this experiment, traveling from Valero street in Makati to Paragon Plaza in Ortigas is:
- Man (walking/running) – 49 minutes
- Car – 1 hour and 7 minutes
- MRT – 1 hour and 16 minutes
- App-based Car Services (Uber) – 1 hour and 24 minutes
Seems like NOT riding any vehicle but doing it on foot is the fastest based on this test. However, this may pose some risks (crossing major roads, walking along EDSA, pollution, susceptibility to mugging and other street crimes). If the city would be friendlier to pedestrians, maybe more of us will be doing this.
Unexpectedly, the test resulted to having app-based car services at the bottom. It may be that it took a different route than the car. Or maybe the wait for the ride to arrive and pick up the passengers contributed greatly to their delay. From video, they also mentioned that this option appears to be the most convenient, but it is the most expensive (with the surge price) too.
Driving your own car came in second however this comes with the stress of driving the stop and go (and more often than not, stop) situation on the roads.
Taking the MRT came in third because during rush hour (like during this test), it may take quite a while before you can ride on one. There are just a few trains traveling around so you have to wait and sometimes the MRT experiences a lot of technical troubles that further delays the trip.
So, have you decided to just walk to and from work?
What do you think of this?
Share your thoughts with us.
