Three Ways to Successfully Adapt and Deal with Metro Manila’s Traffic

Ask any local about getting around Metro Manila, and you'll get an earful about the city's notorious traffic. For many employees who live in the metro, traveling a distance of 10 km to work in the central business district of Makati can take 2 hours or more; you could actually relocate outside the capital, buy an affordable subdivision house for sale in Tanza for instance, and still expect the same travel time over a distance four times greater (while enjoying a much lower cost of living). Locals have adopted different ways of dealing with the city's congestion; here are some tips you may find useful, or downright vital to your survival.

Skip the drive

Driving around Metro Manila on a regular basis not only consumes valuable hours of your time each day, it takes away the chance for you to do something else; your attention (and your hands) need to be fully focused on the road.

In other densely populated capital cities around Asia such as Singapore, Tokyo, or Seoul, you'll often see people commuting to and from work while occupied on their phones. This is rarely an option for most of the commuting population of Manila; overcrowded and noisy public transportation here can present difficulties if you intend to pull out your mobile phone and try to be productive by listening to a podcast or audiobook. In some areas, you'll only be putting yourself at risk of device theft, or worse. An increasingly popular alternative would be using the relatively safe ride-sharing services available through an app like Grab, or joining an office carpool; however, these options are also more expensive.

Avoid rush hour

Many people who live and work in the metro have found it more cost-effective to simply adjust to the city's rush hour. Getting on the road as early as 5 AM can give you enough time to completely avoid the buildup of traffic along major thoroughfares such as the notorious EDSA. Freeing up this sort of time - at both ends of the day - will give you more energy, reduce your stress level, save on fuel costs, and allow you to be more productive and maintain better work-life balance.

The strategy of avoiding Metro Manila's rush hour can come with its own challenges, however. For a lot of employees, waking up around 4 AM is a significant hurdle to overcome. Furthermore, not all employers would be willing or able to accommodate this sort of adjusted schedule. If you can't clock in early and finish work before the afternoon rush, you may actually end up stretching your workday over 12 hours and come home exhausted, which defeats the purpose of ducking the rush hour.

Work from home

The difficulty of finding long-term solutions to the city's traffic has led many local workers to seek working arrangements that allow them to operate from home, either full- or part-time. This may be the ideal option for employees, as they can eliminate the hassle and expense of daily transportation. But despite the recent Telecommuting Act, many employers are still slow to implement measures allowing their employees to work remotely. Those whose current company doesn't permit telecommuting may wind up seeking new jobs in industries such as outsourcing, where more employers are willing to be flexible in their operations.

Dealing with the traffic in Metro Manila currently poses many challenges for which there may not be one effective, universal solution. But if you weigh the costs and benefits, you can strike the right balance for your work and leisure activities.