DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/16 January) — Some Dabawenyo road users here agreed with the TomTom Traffic Index that Davao traffic is congested, but claimed that it is “still lighter than Manila,” contrary to the index’s ranking.
The TomTom index evaluates 500 cities and metropolitan areas across 62 countries by their congestion, travel times, and how many hours commuters have lost while stuck in traffic.
Davao City ranked 8th while Manila was 14th in the ranking of the world’s slowest cities in 2024. The average speed over the year is 10.3 mph (16.6 kph), which means that it takes almost 35 minutes on average to complete a simple 6-mile (9.66 km) journey. In the most congested category, Davao City was third while Manila ranked 27th, the index showed.
MindaNews asked some drivers and commuters within Davao City proper on Thursday, particularly along Roxas Avenue where most routes of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) plying the southern part (such as barangays near Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur) and northern part (barangays near Panabo City, Davao del Sur and Bukidnon province) strategically convene, and they gave almost similar responses – that “traffic here is still not as worst as Manila’s.”
Gabriel Ludovice, a commuter who hails from Barangay Sasa, told this reporter that he makes sure to commute as early as 6:00 a.m. to go to his workplace near Roxas Avenue at 8:00 a.m. If he commutes after 6:30 a.m., he said he will be “doomed” in traffic congestion near the intersections of the Old Airport and Doña Pilar roads.
Barangay Sasa to Roxas Avenue is an estimated 45-minute ride, he said. If there’s congestion, it could go as long as 1 hour and 15 minutes, or longer if traffic is really heavy.
“Mura jud og doom, kay nagdali tanang tawo kay abi’g ma-traffic. Luoy pod kaayo ko kung matanggong ko (It could be likened to a doomsday because everyone is rushing as they might be caught in heavy traffic. I feel pity for myself if I get stuck),” he said.
“Pero kung ikumpara nimo sa Manila, layo ra (But compared to Manila, our traffic situation is much better),” he added.
Don Cuna, a rent-a-van driver who hails from Barangay Inawayan in Toril District, stressed that it is not a “great idea” to go towards the metropolitan area here, especially during rush hours – from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
He mentioned streets such as San Pedro Street (where the city hall and Sangguniang Panlungsod are located), Quezon Boulevard, and J.P. Laurel Avenue (where four main malls in the city are located) as “very traffic congested.”
For example, if he would drive along the entirety of J.P. Laurel Avenue, from Jollibee Magsaysay to Azuela Cove, it would take him one hour to one hour and 30 minutes at most during peak times from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
According to Google Maps, that road stretch is only around 6.2 kilometers.
“Tinuod man gyud ang survey, traffic na dinhi. Pero dili pareho sa Manila, didto sila sayop (The survey is true, we have traffic here. But we are not yet like Manila. The survey is wrong),” Cuna said.
According to the TomTom index, Davao City had a congestion level of 49 percent, which means vehicles took about 49 percent longer to travel through the city’s roads compared to free-flowing conditions or the lowest recorded travel time.
The global study, which analyzed traffic in 500 cities across 62 countries, revealed that driving 10 kilometers in Davao takes an average of 32 minutes and 59 seconds — making it the 8th slowest globally.
Rush-hour delays cost drivers in Davao an average of 107 hours annually, it said.
Overall, Davao drivers spent an estimated six days stuck in traffic in 2024, the TomTom statistics showed.
Other Philippine cities also faced heavy traffic, with Manila ranking 27th and Caloocan placing 39th in the global congestion ranking.
The most congested is Mexico City, Mexico at 52% and Bangkok, Thailand at 50%, the TomTom data showed.
Factors like infrastructure, speed limits, and congestion levels were noted as key influences on traffic conditions. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
