Tough luck to those already hating Metro Manila’s Christmas rush traffic because things are about to get worse.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has warned that traffic in the metro will be really bad tomorrow, Dec 21. And it won’t just be regular Friday traffic.
According to the MMDA, traffic flow in the highway EDSA could be as slow as 12 kilometers per hour, radio station RMN reported.
The agency said this is expected because many will be going to their home provinces during the last weekend before Christmas. Some from the provinces will also be traveling to Manila to spend the holiday in the city.
The same report states that the agency recorded a 19.54 kilometers per hour travel flow on Jan. 8 this year and 16.14 kilometers per hour on Nov. 22.
However, traffic flow already slowed down last week, when a rate of 14.80 kilometers per hour was recorded on Dec. 13.
Bong Nebrija, the MMDA’s traffic manager for EDSA, earlier said that vehicles traversing the main highway could probably only go as fast as 20 kilometers per hour during the holidays.
Apart from EDSA, a CNN Philippines report states that the MMDA expects traffic congestion to be at its worst in the areas of Balintawak, Cubao, Ortigas, Ayala, and Buendia.
The MMDA also announced that they will be lifting Metro Manila’s plate number coding scheme on some days.
According to ABS-CBN News, it will be suspended for private vehicles starting Dec. 24 and until Jan. 2. It will be lifted for provincial buses going to Metro Manila from tomorrow, Dec. 21 to Jan. 2.
Merry Christmas and good luck to us all.
