From long MRT Queue Lines to Heavy Traffic in Metro Manila

This morning I went to MRT Quezon Avenue Station of the for a train ride to Ayala, Makati. I don't usually ride the MRT. It was my second time to see the super long lines of people waiting to board the MRT. According to my estimate from google maps, the queue lines of up to 3 lines reached up to 400m. Since it was my second time to experience these long lines, I was not at all surprised. I also got to talk with a young professional last Sunday who travels from Quezon city to Makati everyday for work. She said that the long lines are normal everyday occurrences which she had gotten used to already.

Queue lines started from the MRT Station to Mother Ignacia Avenue to Panay Avenue

During my first experience, I can't help but complain in my mind. One hour of waiting in line was wasted. This is what the commuters will have to go through everyday. Most of them are working in the formal sector. This means that they are tax payers and they deserve better transportation infrastructures. As I see it, our government is influenced by Westernized thinking- build more and bigger roads to lessen the traffic. But what is the root cause of heavy traffic? Is it because we have few and narrow roads? So the best solution is build more and bigger roads?

Let us look at the example of Singapore. So far, they have the most efficient transportation system and I would say most commuter/pedestrian friendly city. They invested heavily on railway lines. Travel time is faster and more predictable. Even during rush hours, the trains are never congested. To prevent traffic congestion, they also discouraged people from buying more cars. If I'm not mistaken, they only have limited slots for car ownership which is also subject to bidding. Parking space fees are very expensive. When you buy a car, you will have to pay a tax that almost doubles the price of the car. Other public transportation vehicles like buses and cabs are government owned and controlled. One could always prefer to use the public mode of transportation because its faster, cheaper and hassle free. 

I don't wish to undermine our Philippine government. I just want to say that we can still improve and we can aspire for better systems and better way of doing things. Let me site some of our transportation statistics in Metro Manila:

• only three MRT/LRT lines and perhaps fewer trains(?), which from time to time suffer breakdowns
• we have around 12,000 buses, 400,000 jeepneys, FXs and taxis, 60,000 trucks and trailers  in Metro Manila as of last year
• we have around 400,000 privately owned vehicles in Metro Manila

From these statistics, one can examine closely the root cause of the heavy traffic in Metro Manila. How then can we improve our current transportation systems? Comment for ideas and suggestions.