Bakit ma-traffic sa _______? I usually pose this question to my audience (e.g., students, trainees, etc.). In this post, I attempt to answer the question in the title using data we collected for Antipolo City’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP). In one of the workshops, I asked the participants from the local government unit (i.e., from the various transport-related offices of Antipolo City) to try to determine the traffic mix for Ortigas Avenue Extension (also named Corazon Aquino Avenue from the Antipolo side) based on the traffic counts conducted at a station along the section that connected Antipolo with Taytay (at Tikling Junction). They also had performed vehicle occupancy counts along the same location so

These are just the numbers from the Antipolo surveys. Note that Ortigas Avenue Extension serves as a collector for the Rizal towns including Taytay and Cainta as well as for Pasig City. If we have similar numbers for the traffic mix and occupancies, then we can conclude that most people are actually using private vehicles with a surprising share being carried by motorcycles! That seems to go against the narrative that private vehicle ownership is low and that most people take public transportation. At least for the case presented here, that is not true, and we seem to be underestimating private vehicle use or preference.

Next: Bakit ma-traffic sa Marcos Highway?

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