Traffic Congestion in
Metro Manila
By metro areas. Metro Manila has the worst traffic
congestion among metro areas in the world according
to the 2023 TomTom Traffic Index. Out of 387 cities
across 55 countries, Metro Manila registered the longest
average travel time to traverse a ten (10)- kilometer
route (e.g., Cubao to Makati) at 25 minutes and 30
seconds. This is higher compared to the 24 minutes
and 40 seconds average travel time in 2022. The other
metro areas which topped in traffic congestion are Lima
(Peru), Bengaluru (India), Sapporo (Japan), and Bogota
(Colombia) (Table 1).
Table 1
Top 10 Worst Traffic Congestion Among
Metro Areas
Ranking
Metro area, Country
Ave. travel
time/10 kms
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Metro Manila, Philippines
Lima, Peru
Bengaluru, India
Sapporo, Japan
Bogota, Colombia
Taichung, Taiwan
Mumbai, India
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Pune, India
Nagoya, Japan
25 mins 30 s
24 mins 20 s
23 mins 50 s
23 mins 30 s
23 mins 30 s
22 mins 30 s
22 mins 30 s
22 mins 20 s
22 mins 10 s
22 mins 10 s
Congestion level
(%)
52
47
53
32
51
34
45
30
42
36
Source: tomtom.com/traffic-index
F
acts
in
igures
Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department
House of Representatives
April 2024 (No. 23)
Based on the report, an average driver in Metro Manila
spent 240 hours on the road last year, including 117
hours due to traffic congestion. It resulted in an average
of 1,027 kilograms (kgs) of carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions per car per year, including 304 kgs due to
congestion.
Rush hour. Metro Manila also recorded the slowest
average speed during “rush hour” – or that time of the
day with the highest congestion, at 19 kms per hour
(Figure 1). The “rush hours” in Metro Manila are between
7:00 am to 9:00 am, and 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. In 2023,
the worst time to be on the road is Friday from 5pm to
6pm as driving a 10-km route could take an average of
35 minutes and 30 seconds.
Figure 2.
Traveling by Car During Rush hours in
Metro Manila
Tomtom’s data revealed that traffic jam in Metro Manila
has gotten worse with Filipinos losing up to 117 hours
(equivalent to 4 days and 21 hours) per year due to
congestion in 2023 (Figure 1). This is 12 hours and 51
minutes more than the average time lost in 2022.
Evening
16
Figure 1.
Top 10 Worst Traffic Congestion Among Metro
Areas, by Time Lost (Hours) per year and Average
Speed (km/hr) During Rush Hour
Morning
16
140
120
Lost Hours
117
116
23
100
80
23
19
20
24
63
24
91
20
21
25
20
83
65
58
60
24
23
15
54
10
40
Nagoya
Pune
Kaohsiung
Mumbai
Taichung
Bogota
Sapporo
0
Bengaluru
0
Lima
5
Manila
20
Source: tomtom.com/traffic-index
Additional (hrs)
18
12
30
Ave. speed
117
109
Optimal (hrs)
0
5
10
Ave. speed
Time taken to travel 10 kms
15
20
25
Morning
Morning Rush
Rush
21 kmh
28 minutes
30
35
40
Evening
Evening Rush
Rush
17 kmh
34 minutes
Source: tomtom.com/traffic-index
Specifically, the average speed (using a car) during
the morning and evening rush is 21 kms/hour and 17
kms/hour, respectively. As a result, a 10-km trip during
the rush hours which normally takes about 16 minutes
incurs an additional 12 minutes in the morning and 18
minutes in the evening. Hence, the average time to
travel 10 kms could reach 28 minutes in the morning
rush and 34 minutes in the evening rush (Figure 2).
According to TomTom, a cyclist can do the same 10 km.
commute between 25 minutes to 35 minutes; an electric
scooter does it in 24 minutes to 32 minutes, and electric
moped for 15 minutes to 27 minutes.
By city centers. The city of Manila ranked 9th among
387 city centers surveyed by TomTom with an average
travel time of 27 mins per 10 kms. and an average
speed during rush hour at 19 km/h. The worst traffic can
be observed in London (United Kingdom), followed by
Dublin (Ireland), Toronto (Canada), Milan (Italy), and
Lima (Peru) (Table 2).
Table 2.
Top 10 Worst Traffic Congestion Among
Business Centers
Ranking
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
City Center, Country
London, UK
Dublin, Ireland
Toronto, Canada
Milan, Italy
Lima, Peru
Bengaluru, India
Pune, India
Bucharest, Romania
Manila, Philippines
Brussels, Belgium
Ave. travel
time/10 kms
37 mins 20s
29 mins 30s
29 mins
28 mins 50s
28 mins 30s
28 mins 10s
27 mins 50s
27 mins 40s
27 mins 20s
27 mins
Ave. speed
in rush hr.
14 km/h
16 km/h
18 km/h
17 km/h
17 km/h
18 km/h
19 km/h
17 km/h
19 km/h
18 km/h
Source: tomtom.com/traffic-index
Note however, that Manila has the worst traffic
congestion among major cities in Southeast Asia as
compared to other cities in Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand,
Malaysia, and Singapore (Table 3). The city closest
to Manila in terms of traffic congestion is Taichung in
Taiwan at 11th place.
Table 3.
Traffic Congestion in Other Cities in
Southeast Asia
Ranking
City Center
11
17
30
40
43
46
169
170
210
Taichung, Taiwan
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Jakarta, Indonesia
Tainan, Taiwan
Taipei, Taiwan
Bangkok, Thailand
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Singapore, Singapore
Taoyuan, Taiwan
Ave. travel
time/10 kms
26 mins 50s
26 mins
23 mins 20s
22 mins 10s
21 mins 50s
21 mins 40s
16 mins 50s
16 mins 50s
15 mins 40s
Ave. speed
in rush hr.
20 km/r
21 km/h
21 km/r
25 km/h
23 km/h
23 km/h
28 km/h
29 km/h
31 km/h
Source: tomtom.com/traffic-index
Motor Vehicle (MV) Registration. Total motor
vehicle registered in 2023 in Metro Manila reached
3,816,160 units, 7.4% higher than the 3,552,326
MVs registered in 2022 (Figure 3). Although new
registrations recorded an 11.5% decline to 613,100
MVs in 2023 from 692,847 MVs, renewals grew by 12%
to 3,203,060 MVs in 2023 from 2,859,479 MVs in 2022.
Figure 3.
Motor Vehicle Registration in Metro Manila, by
Type (2016 to 2023)
4,500,000
Cars
4,000,000
Uvs
SUVs
Trucks
Buses
3,552,326
3,500,000
3,076,088
3,000,000
2,500,000
MC/TC
2,405,122
2,617,537
2,792,936
Trailers
3,816,160
3,209308
2,926,338
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
-
Source: Computed
from2017
BOC Monthly
Import
Data
(2024)
2016
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Source: Land Transportation Office (LTO)
Almost half of the total MV registrations in Metro Manila
in 2023 came from motorcycles and tricycles (MC/TC)
at 1,766,610 units or 46.3% of the total. Accounting
for 22.9%, utility vehicle (UV) registrations went up by
11.4% to 874,638 units in 2023 from 785,040, while that
of cars, which constitute about 14.8% of the total MV
registrations, grew by 11.4% to 563,980 units in 2023
from 506,406 units in 2022.
Vehicle sales. Based on a report by the Chamber
of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc.
(CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association
(TMA), vehicle sales increased by 21.9% in 2023 to
a record high of 429,807 units, beating the industry’s
annual sales target of 423,000 units as well as prepandemic sales level (Figure 4).
Figure 4.
Vehicle Car Sales (2016 to 2023)
500,000
Passenger
450,000
400,000
Commercial
317,827
286,249
226,384
248,390
350,000
260,744
266,699
300,000
183,228
250,000
154,155
200,000
150,000
139,424
100,000
50,000
-
133,188
2016
109,197
69,638
109,020
2017
2018
2019
2020
85,897 111,980
85,260
2021
2022
2023
Source: CAMPI and TMA
Passenger car sales rose by 30.4% to 111,980 units
in 2023 from 85,897 units in 2022. On the other hand,
commercial vehicle sales reached 317,827 units in
2023, 19.2% higher than the 266,699 commercial
vehicle sales in 2022 (Figure 4).