EDSA traffic doubled in the past five years, says MMDA

Travel time on EDSA has doubled in the past five years, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said, according to a report on Unang Balita on Wednesday.

For instance, if it took 42 minutes to travel from Roxas Boulevard to Monumento via EDSA back in 2011, it now takes more than one hour to do so.

Traffic has also started building up early in the morning nowadays on major roads of Metro Manila.

Among these roads are Marcos Highway, Shaw Boulevard, and Roxas Boulevard.

In 2010, traffic along Marcos Highway would build up starting at 8 a.m.

However, heavy traffic is already noted on that road at 6 a.m. nowadays.

The holiday rush has made traffic heavier, with the number of vehicles on the road increasing by 25 percent.

Because of this, a proposal was made by the Department of Transportation to grant emergency powers to President Rodrigo Duterte to solve the traffic problem.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, principal author of the Traffic Crisis Bill, however, admitted it is unlikely this will be passed this year. —KG, GMA News