Mary Jane Lontoc, a single-mom of two kids who lives in Bagong Nayon in Antipolo, Rizal, juggles her motherly duties while working as an administrative officer in a BPO company based in Makati City; a job she’s had for five years. She narrates how her current job plays a big role in fulfilling her kids’ educational needs and her goal of building a better future for her family.
More than the huge sacrifices she makes every day, she needs to be tough as nails, day in and day out, as she wrestles with her daily work from 9 AM to 6 PM, Monday to Saturday, just to stay in the game and perform all her responsibilities for the company.
Mary Jane, who travels almost six hours a day for six days from home to work and vice-versa, narrates that the hardest part of her job is not actually the stresses of work, but rather the time she wastes on the countless hours in traffic as a commuter.
She fondly remembers the time her year-old son would greet her as she arrives late in the evening. But as the traffic condition in the Metro worsened over the years, she barely had the time to realize that her two kids are now all grown up. She admits that her length of time she spends on commute caused her to miss out on numerous precious moments that she could have spent with them.
THE CHAOS OF TRAFFIC
The World Economic Forum cited Manila as one of the most crowded cities in the world in 2017, while Waze users have rated Metro Manila as having the “worst traffic on earth.” During rush hour, the total number of vehicles far exceed the roads’ maximum capacity, with all vehicles numbering 1.75 times more than what the main and side streets can handle.
One of the primary causes of traffic density within Metro Manila is the current transportation infrastructure. Overall, there is a lack of quality infrastructure, thus leading to insufficient modes of mobility. The good news is that the current administration promises that the coming years will be the, “golden age of Infrastructure, with a record $168 billion to be spent on 5,000 projects across the nation.”
Today, traffic demand in Metro Manila is at 12.8 million trips. Most of these trips are made using public transport, owing to its 69-percent share of total trips. Just as it was in 2015, the traffic volume within the metropolis today already exceeds the capacities of existing roads. The urban planning failed to bring into fruition a public transport system that could function in the dense, compact city of Metro Manila.
For capitalists, traffic might be a sign of progress, but when traffic congestion remains rampant, there’s hardly any progress to speak of. A report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) stated that the Philippine economy is losing a total of P3.5 billion a day due to the traffic congestion problem in Metro Manila.
Aside from the economic loss, traffic also affects the health and well-being of motorists. It can even lead to negative emotions that can harm not only the individual’s feeling but other motorists as well. Take road rage, for example. Road rage is the aggressive behavior of an automobile driver which includes rude gestures, verbal insults, and deliberate reckless driving that has the potential to endanger the lives of both the drivers and the people surrounding them.
Aside from its negative health and economic impact, traffic congestion also has massive ill effects on the environment, specifically its contribution to air pollution. According to the National Emissions Inventory, last 2012, 71 percent of the air pollution in the Philippines comes from vehicles on the road. Furthermore, the situation is much worse in the National Capital Region (NCR), where 85 percent of the air pollution comes from vehicles which end up emitting more harmful gases because traffic keeps them longer on the road than they should be.
Mary Jane and her kids deserves a better life—one that’s filled with quality family time. As she steps out of her doorway every single day, my prayer is that the road she is taking now is the road toward a less-travelled life.
If you have the time to read this on the road, while being in the middle of a horrendous traffic situation, this message is for you!
