EDSA travel speed dips in runup to holidays

MANILA, Philippines — The speed of vehicles traversing EDSA declined in the days before Christmas due to the sheer volume of cars using Metro Manila’s main highway, a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) official said yesterday.

In an interview aired over dzBB, MMDA Traffic Engineering Center chief Neomie Recio said the travel speed along EDSA was recorded at 18 kilometers per hour days before Christmas, compared to 20 kph recorded earlier in the year.

“This is still a bit fast, but it is slower compared to before,” she said in Filipino, adding that it is still faster compared to the 11-kph travel speed recorded before the pandemic hit in March 2020.

The average number of cars traversing EDSA is currently at 395,000 vehicles, which is near the 405,000 vehicles recorded before the pandemic, according to Recio.

“The problem we have is we have a very huge number of vehicles compared to what our roads could accommodate,” she reiterated, noting that the MMDA once recorded 401,000 vehicles traversing EDSA in a single day recently.

Recio said the MMDA will continue to strictly enforce the bus carousel and bicycle lane scheme along EDSA.

She reminded motorists to utilize other routes, such as mabuhay lanes, to decongest EDSA.

The MMDA continuously conducts clearing operations along mabuhay lane routes, Recio said.