Last week, social media posts on the Tomtom Traffic Index 2025, caused quite a stir as it ranked Davao City as #8 of the slowest cities in 2004 with 31 minutes 50 seconds in traffic movement, with Barranquillo in Colombo ranked #1 with 34 minutes 50 seconds. According to the institute’s press release dated January 8, 2025, “this year’s edition features 500 cities across 62 countries on 6 continents, making it the most robust and complete analysis ever made available to any observer. The TomTom Traffic Index uses unified metrics to rank these cities based on their average travel time as well as congestion levels. Davao City is ranked #3 in the most congested cities at 49% and Mexico City, ranked #1 at 52%.”
(https://www.tomtom.com/newsroom/press-releases/general/605041959/tomtom-traffic-index-2025/)
This is unacceptable to many residents here, considering the horrific traffic experienced in megacities like Manila and Cebu. We used to be known for our relatively smooth traffic flow, but we have to admit the past few months have not been easy on commuters and drivers. The increase in traffic congestion experienced in major thoroughfares is undeniable but it is not just enough to whine about this situation. There are many factors that contribute to our growing transportation nightmare.
One of the major contributors, as many would opine, is the rise in private vehicle ownership. There are two things worth mentioning here: the increase in purchasing power of Davaoenos who can afford to buy cars offered by car dealers with marked down or without down payment, the ubiquitous surplus vehicles, and; the lack of efficient and reliable public transportation. We can see all kinds of vehicles competing for space on our roads, from tricycles, e-bikes and motorcycles side by side with huge trucks on highways. We were rooting for the implementation of the High Priority Bus System (HPBS) which could have drastically improved our transport system but this project seemed to be shelved.
The concentration of commercial and educational institutions in certain areas, like the downtown area, creates bottlenecks during peak hours. This is coupled with the lack of parking spaces which make drivers very creative in parking vehicles at the curb and on sidewalks.
We also need to factor in the behavior of drivers on the road (especially during peak hours) who are frustrated with the bottlenecks and are impatient to the extent that road courtesy is thrown out of the window. Motorcycles passing through tight spaces between vehicles is a bane and they are emboldened by the inconsistent enforcement of traffic rules.
Except for the National Peace Rally held last Monday, the city’s traffic seemed to have calmed a bit. Obviously, the Tomtom Traffic Index triggered a storm of reactions but this should serve as a wake up call to improve our transport system in a sustainable manner and for the local government to seriously implement it. We can still mitigate our traffic woes.
