The traffic problem in Cebu is but a reflection of the traffic problem in Metro Manila. The same problem besets Baguio, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod, and even Zamboanga. This cannot be blamed on the mayor or the governor, not even on the president. This is a problem that results from the whole nation and the whole population's lack of long-range planning, lack of discipline on the part of drivers and pedestrians, and the inability of our bureaucrats to create a viable balance between the dynamics among volume, motion, time, space, and speed. This is illustrative of man's inability to solve a physics problem.
Travelling from the south to Cebu City on a Monday morning is like entering Metro Manila through Balintawak from Ilocos on the same Monday morning. It is just like travelling from the Davao International Airport to the city proper, or from the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental to the City of Cagayan de Oro. Travelling from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport to Cebu City or to Mandaue is an ordeal that can cause blood pressure to rise and tempers to flare up. That is why many road rage incidents happen and a lot of vehicular accidents occur especially during peak hours.
Why don't our leaders try to come up with a sliding work hours and school hours system so that the volume of traffic can be managed without adding more spaces or building more roads? Why don't some companies start work hours at 4 or 5 or 6 in the morning and end earlier than the others after eight hours of work? Why don't some schools start classes at 5 or 6 or 7 in the morning and end school hours before the close of offices and factories? Why doesn't our government prohibit the construction of more factories inside the metropolis? Why not start thinking outside the box?
Can you imagine how many working hours are wasted and how productivity is adversely affected by traffic? Can you imagine the bad effects of traffic on the quality of life in the cities and other urban centers? Our planners and bureaucrats should start quantifying losses and damages to motivate positive and strategic planning and organizing our time, space, motion, and speed. It is high time we learn a little physics and start grappling with the traffic Gordian knot. It is a hard nut to crack, but it is not impossible to solve.