Road crash along Ortigas Avenue Extension leads to Carmaggedon – impacts on traffic
The crash involving a truck, a car and a jeepney last Saturday led to severe traffic jams. Taytay traffic management decided to apply a one way alternating scheme while they were conducting emergency and clearing operations at the site. The result was very long queues along Ortigas Avenue Extension/ Corazon Aquino Avenue.
Travelers were forced to use alternate routes going down from Antipolo. That led to these alternate routes becoming congested as well as streets were generally narrow and were not meant for heavy traffic.
While the crash was severe and probably led to a fatality if not more, there was actually space for two way traffic. There would still be congestion but at least traffic would have been moving instead of at a standstill for long periods of time. While this may appear to be insensitive to those involved in the crash, this is the practical thing to do for traffic management. This is also to lessen the impacts of such crashes on the network and transport operations (i.e., movement of people and goods).
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Road crash along Ortigas Avenue Extension leads to carmaggedon in Antipolo – The crash
A terrible crash across Fibertex along Ortigas Avenue Extension. The outcome most likely led to fatalities given the severity of the crash and the conditions of the vehicles involved. Here are photos my daughter took as we passed the scene of the crash as we headed towards Tikling Junction.
I will write about the aftermath of the crash in the next post.
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Some thoughts on bus transportation for Metro Manila and beyond
There are two recent news items about buses in Metro Manila and adjacent areas:
- A proposed study on bus lanes for Quezon Avenue, Ortigas Avenue and C5
- Bus transport supplement for LRT Line 2
Did you know that there was a Pre-Feasibility for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along several thoroughfares in Metro Manila back in 2007? I am sharing this paper presented at the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP) 2014 conference that synthesizes the references including the 2007 Pre-Feasibility Study on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for Metro Manila (supported by the USAID) and the 2011 Mega Manila Public Transportation Planning Support System (MMPTPSS) Study funded by the then DOTC. I hope these studies, which are still very relevant though no longer recent, can be utilized. There is no need to reinvent the proverbial wheel.
Sigua, R.G. (2014) “Identification of BRT Corridors in Metro Manila,” Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, Iloilo City.
LRT Line 2 is an example of government not having the foresight of acquiring new rolling stock (i.e., trains) despite passenger demand steadily increasing over the years. Yet here we are and the old train sets are now deteriorating with some already retired. And then there is the proposal and study by the LTFRB and LRTA about buses supplementing the Line 2 operations. A quick check and there is already a bus service supplementing Line 1 – the Antipolo-Cubao route that is also serviced by jeepneys. This existing route can be tweaked or expanded so there are several lines serving not just Antipolo but also other Rizal towns and the City of Marikina. From Cubao there are already jeepney routes parallel to Line 2. Perhaps instead of just jeepneys, these can be rationalized to buses, which have higher capacities than PUJs? I don’t think you need to have a deep dive on this if you are familiar with public transportation along the Line 2 corridor.
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Successful 32nd TSSP Annual Conference
The 32nd Annual Conference of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP) was a success. A total of 16 papers were presented at 4 technical sessions while the main sponsor GIZ facilitated the practical session on e-mobility. While most participants came from Cagayan State University (CSU), there were many from Metro Manila and Mindanao (Iligan and Zamboanga cities).
Closing group photo – this was taken after the concluding program for the conference. Instead of forming at the stage, our photographers asked us to be seated instead.
This year’s conference committee was chaired by Dr. Daniel Mabazza of UP Diliman’s College of Social Science and Philosophy (Department of Geography). From L-R: Dr. Dan Mabazza, Dr. Marloe Sundo (UPLB-CEAT-DCE), Dr. Sheilah Gaabucayan-Napalang (UPD-SURP), Ms. Alorna Abao (UPD-NCTS), Dr. Sandy Gaspay (UPD-COE-ICE), Dr. Danielle Guillen (UPD-AIT), Dr. Karl Vergel (UPD-COE-ICE), Dr. Regin Regidor (UPD-COE-ICE) and Dr. Noriel Tiglao (UPD-NCPAG).
There was no formal announcement for next year’s conference though as TSSP is still considering the schedule in relation to next year’s EASTS Conference to be held in Adelaide, Australia sometime in September 2027. A strong candidate host though is Naga City, which already has an active core group for transportation based in the Bicol State College of Advanced Science and Technology (BISCAST). Of course, the LGU itself is ably led by its current Mayor Leni Robredo. I will post an update on this soon as I get some firm info from the society, which is currently also being supported by GIZ. GIZ, incidentally, also has an engagement with Naga City so the timing seems perfect for the next conference to be held there. Naga City is well known for its academic institutions including the Ateneo de Naga and University of Nueva Caceres. Naga, of course, is in Region 5 (Bicol) and there are certainly a lot of universities and colleges there including Bicol University and UST-Legazpi (Aquinas University) and many other SUCs and private HEI’s that probably have students and faculty doing transportation studies.
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5th Workshop for Young Researchers (WYRe) at TSSP 2026
We successfully held the 5th Workshop for Young Researchers or WYRe today. The workshop was held at the Claude Andrews Convention Center at the Cagayan State University Andrews campus.
There were 2 talks – 1 on the importance of doing research and another on how to get published. These were followed by workshops on abstract writing, and outline drafting.
WYRe was inspired by a similar workshop conducted by the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) back in 2017 to help young researchers including graduate students and early career researchers and academics develop skills particularly for proposal drafting and publication of their outputs.
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TSSP 2026 Conference Program
I reproduce below the conference program of the 32nd Annual Conference of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines:
There is actually a pre-conference activity in the Workshop for Young Researchers (WYRe) also organized by TSSP. However, the workshop is by advance registration and limited considering it is for young researchers that include graduate students and young professionals embarking on research work.
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