WEEK 6: Transit in Manila
A recent tourism campaign promotes an image of a lone kayaker traversing an emerald lagoon in an image that resembles many a desktop background, containing the tagline: "Commuting: more fun in the Philippines."
The advertisers must have an excellent sense of humor since commuting in Manila is anything but fun. With over 2.5 million cars registered in the city and roadways that are regularly flooded, Manila is consistently ranked among the most congested city in the world.
Personal record for slowest drive: a 3½ hour taxi ride to travel 8 miles following a rainstorm.
The singular form of public transit, an aging metro system built during the Marcos regime, serves only a fraction of the city and is severely overcrowded, carrying double its daily limit of 350,000 commuters. Manila denizens started an "MRT challenge," calling upon their politicians to ride the metro system just once to experience what they endure daily.
Personal record for slowest commute: 2 hours to ride 12 miles, plus a 90 minute queue at a transfer station.
The response to this lack of public infrastructure is the "jeepney," a uniquely Filipino bus that is privately operated and made from WWII American jeeps. Although their frequent stops exacerbate traffic conditions, jeepneys have become so ubiquitous that malls have begun building formal terminals for them, effectively doubling the mall as a transit hub and convoluting its function, ala Koolhaas’ “Junkspace.”
Although this high level of congestion is due in part to Manila’s density, it’s one of the main reasons for that density. Spending over two hours to commute 12 miles isn’t viable, and many Filipinos cannot afford to live directly in the city center. The only option then is to move within a mile or two of their workplace, and build in any space they find left: under bridges, on rafts, and in cemeteries.
The fastest way to reduce Manila’s density and provide opportunities for social mobility is to address the issues surrounding physical mobility.
