The real reason traffic woes are getting worse

I’m one of those looking forward each Wednesday to grab a copy of the Inquirer just so I can read what’s new in its Motoring section.

This is in reaction to the article titled “Not just quantity, but quality, of motoring that causes jams” (Motoring, 1/21/15). I find it hard to believe the comments given by the many car executives with regard to Manila’s traffic solution.

Sorry to say, but it’s like they’re lying through their teeth—looking at solutions through the “sales” prism, if you will, of their eyes. Driver discipline, better road management… seriously? Not quantity?

With the advent of cheap financing, it’s only getting worse. I’ve been driving for 35 years. Without better mass transit, our riding future seems hopeless.

Time Magazine recently carried an article that noted this: “Cities are reaching a limit in terms of how many more cars they can accept. Studies like those from the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute suggest that the US has reached ‘Peak Car.’”

More developed countries like Singapore has adopted car ownership restrictions for several years now. You’d wonder being in the car business in that country may not be so lucrative, quantity-wise.

But, it’s apparent what the payoff is for their citizens’ daily commute.

—ARMIS D. CRUZ, Armis_Cruz@pal.com.ph