Davao City is the eighth slowest city in the world, according to the 2024 TomTom Traffic Index that studied traffic flow in 500 cities. Manila and Caloocan follow, ranking 14th and 26th respectively.
The report by TomTom, a Netherlands-based location technology company, says that on average, it takes 32 minutes and 59 seconds to travel 10 kilometers in Davao. With a congestion level of 49 percent, the city ranks the third most congested in the world after Mexico City, Mexico and Bangkok, Thailand. An average 136 hours per year was lost during rush hours, the report also says.
In Manila, it takes an average of 32 minutes and 10 seconds to travel 10 kilometers. The city’s congestion level is at 42 percent, while 127 hours have been lost during rush hours every year on average. Manila ranks the 27th most congested city in the world.
In Caloocan, 111 hours have been lost during rush hours every year, and the 10-kilometer travel time is 30 minutes and 44 seconds. Ranking 39th most congested city, Caloocan has a congestion level of 41 percent.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said in a press conference on Thursday, January 16, that their own monitoring system does not match up with the data from the traffic index.
“Meron tayong sariling survey or monitoring kung saan mas mabilis pa. As compared sa datos ng TomTom, mas mabilis ‘yong travel speed na mamonitor natin internally dito sa MMDA,” said MMDA Chairperson Romando Artes. “Kung ang masusunod ay ‘yong ating internal monitoring ay mas maganda sana ‘yong ranking natin.”
Artes also said that the ranking is an improvement from 2023’s traffic index, which showed that Manila had the slowest traffic among 387 metropolitan areas.
Davao City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMMO) Chief Dionisio Abude questioned the tech company’s methodology. “Kung meron sana silang basehan, parameters nila, sabihin nila ganito ang ginawa namin, ganitong oras ‘yong ano namin, ganito kaliit ang kalsada,” Abude said. “‘Yon ang talagang may basis na pwede tayong sabihin na talagang congested.”
TomTom’s traffic index is based on floating car data, which comes from GPS-equipped devices and is used to derive historic travel times on individual roads. The location tech company considers other factors when studying travel time in each city as well: static (road infrastructure, such as street categories, road sizes and capacities, speed limits, etc.) and dynamic (traffic congestion, roadworks, bad weather, etc.).
According to TomTom, static factors determine optimal time travel in a city, while dynamic factors provide a basis to interpret traffic flow changes. “The sum of both gives us the travel time,” the report says.
Abude added that if the index’s data was true, it was a sign of progress in Davao City. “Siguro, kung totoo man ‘yon, that is the sign of na ‘yong Davao City, nandito na lahat ‘yong mga tao, dumadami ang mga sasakyan, nakikita natin na progresibo ‘yong Davao City kaya marami nang sasakyan, tao, at business, parang ganon.”
Abude also said that the traffic congestion in the city is caused by a lack of discipline among drivers. “Kulang tayo sa disiplina, kulang tayo sa concern, wala tayong bigayan. Ganito lang yon, wala tayo sanang traffic congestion kung ang mga driver ay disiplinado kasi wala tayong bigayan e.”
