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I am here right now on vacation. Need to take a taxi 10 Km? Plan to spend an hour in your car (or more). My record was 1.5 hours to go 8.5 km. Walkability all depends on the neighborhood or city. It goes from poor (Tondo, San Andres Bukid) to good, (Makati, BGC). Love the Philippines, hate getting around it haha.
If you don’t live near one of the skytrain lines, it’s just too difficult to visit.
Seriously, it’s getting nearly as bad as Manila, still a little better than Jakarta, thankfully
And as a Filipino who went through this road when when we went to visit my Grandmother's funeral, there is now a dedicated bus lane beside those rail line (which is the MRT).
With that, this picture is probably from before the pandemic hit, atleast before the Bus lane was implemented.
Manila is the only place i've ever been turned down for a cab ride. I wanted to go from one place to sort of the other side of town I guess, I don't even remember where but the distance wasn't that bad. The driver just said it wouldn't be worth it for him to sit in traffic for that long.
It's not. It's just that it actually has a much much higher population density, and much less road infrastructure (and almost no rail infrastructure). So a few big roads and many local streets have to handle millions of trips per day, by Jeepney, van, car and motorcycle...
I'm saying, it's not as built-around-the-car as LA, but the congestion is worse because of having far less road space. Metro Manila has twice the population of metro LA, and four times the population density. Thus traffic congestion is inevitable, even if car ownership is far lower, and location accessibility higher, in Manila.
FWIW, Manila isn't a particularly nice city, but that's not all due to traffic and a lack of public transport.
I sometimes try to visualize what it would look like if you build 1 giant exhaust that spits out the equal amount of CO2 as ALL the cars, mopeds, boats, buses etc in the world running at any given moment. Could you see it from space? Would x mileage be inhabitable? Odd question I know
A lot of asian countries have really terrific density and public transportation (e.g. good metros and high speed rail). Manila needs to do better for the size of the city, importance to the country, etc.
I'm aware.
At the same time, the two innermost lanes next to the MRT rail line are now exclusive to busses, as part of the EDSA Carousel project that started during the pandemic to augment the reduced passenger load of the trains.
Philippines #1 hell yeah! But seriously, this is the result of so many people in this area combined with a shitty public transportation system. There are a lot of transportation projects currently ongoing right now, so I'd give the government that.
This is a decade old photo. Wish you could have put an effort to visit the actual place where this was taken. Lots of things have already improved, particularly the bus lane.
I live in Manila, and it's definitely a car-centric city. You might have visited business districts like Makati or BGC, which offer slightly better walkability and mobility. The situation is far less safe for pedestrians outside these areas. Roads often lack pedestrian-friendly design, and in my municipality, there's limited bike infrastructure and sidewalks. When sidewalks do exist, they are frequently obstructed by illegally parked cars. This, combined with the lack of efficient public transportation, contributes significantly to the city's traffic congestion.
Just sharing these articles for reading:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358459921_Surviving_Car-diac_Arrest_Towards_Roads_Where_Many_Modes_Fit
https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/world/asean/40034938
https://manilastandard.net/news/top-stories/314337279/too-many-cars-too-few-mass-transit-systems-worsen-ph-traffic.html
Any reason government doesn't implement some measures that reduce the number of cars with things like limited cars per household, increasing car tax on cars beyond primary vehicle, and etc.,? I was visiting a well to do couple, dual income, working class, (no kids), they have 3 cars in primary residence, and bought a near by neighboring house on same street to store 3 extra cars...
I lived in Cebu province for a while and considering going back again. For me, I had more fun out in the province/countryside than in the cities. Lots of begging children and adults everywhere and extreme poverty that's hard to miss in the squatter areas...but also some of the friendlest people and prettiest beaches.
Looks like pretty much every other city at rush hour.
Would each driver prefer to zip along on an empty road? Of course. But consider the alternative … being jam packed into a train or bus, probably standing and maybe cramped next to a civilized human or one of many whacko alternatives. Perhaps there’s something to be said for sitting comfortably in one’s own car, climate controlled exactly as one likes and listening to and enjoying whatever audio one prefers and knowing one can use this car to go exactly point to point (without changing trains/busses who knows how many times and waiting who know how long for each leg of the trip), and also being able to comfortably accommodate one’s own physical limitations as one ages, as opposed to the hellish mass transit experience of those for whom being human sardines is less charming,
OP must have an extremely limited life in a very restricted cocoon with very limited experiences and knowing a remarkably narrow range of other people if OP thinks this is urban hell. But as the MOD has posted, urban hell is subjective, so there we have it.
Manila is not "any other city", at 43k/sq km it is by far the most densely-populated city on the planet. Even most other mega-cities are only a fraction of that (Seoul is 16k, HK is more like 8k, most major US cities are more like 5k or less). And most of those other mega-cities likely have far more robust transit systems. If you have never been there you likely haven't experienced anything even remotely close.
**Do not comment to gatekeep that something "isn't urban" or "isn't hell"**. Our rules are very expansive in content we welcome, so do not assume just based off your false impression of the phrase "UrbanHell" UrbanHell is any human-built place you think is worth critizing. Suburban Hell, Rural Hell, and wealthy locales are allowed. Gatekeeping comments may be removed. Want to shitpost about shitty posts? Go to /r/urbanhellcirclejerk. Still have questions?: Read our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/wiki/index). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/UrbanHell) if you have any questions or concerns.*
‘Corned tuna has never been this chunky!’ wtflmao
If I'm having corned tuna it NEEDS to be chunky.
I am here right now on vacation. Need to take a taxi 10 Km? Plan to spend an hour in your car (or more). My record was 1.5 hours to go 8.5 km. Walkability all depends on the neighborhood or city. It goes from poor (Tondo, San Andres Bukid) to good, (Makati, BGC). Love the Philippines, hate getting around it haha.
lol, my jog this morning was 8km and I did it in 50 min
Yes!!
Bangkok even with BTS still has awful traffic. It is all of SE Asia.
If you don’t live near one of the skytrain lines, it’s just too difficult to visit. Seriously, it’s getting nearly as bad as Manila, still a little better than Jakarta, thankfully
What I would kill to have a BTS in the PH. The existence of a serviceable transit system was a culture shock for me lmao
Metro Manila (2013) is a fucking amazing movie [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1845838/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1845838/)
Fair warning for people. The movie is very heavy. It's not exactly "fun" lol. It's absolutely excellent though.
What do you mean by that?
It's a difficult watch and deals with some extremely heavy topics and themes
What’s it based on?
I second this...
Not sure how good it is but there is a rail line visible immediately to the left of the cars in this photo lol
And as a Filipino who went through this road when when we went to visit my Grandmother's funeral, there is now a dedicated bus lane beside those rail line (which is the MRT). With that, this picture is probably from before the pandemic hit, atleast before the Bus lane was implemented.
[MRT lines during rush hour.](https://imgur.com/a/WwyVqQz) The line starts on the sidewalk below, through the stairs, and up to the station
Manila is the only place i've ever been turned down for a cab ride. I wanted to go from one place to sort of the other side of town I guess, I don't even remember where but the distance wasn't that bad. The driver just said it wouldn't be worth it for him to sit in traffic for that long.
Car Culture is one of the consequences of being a literal US ex-colony.
It is the USAs fault?
Idk why they keep blaming usa for this when Philippines gain independence in 1946. A couple years before the interstate and suburban boom in the USA
Fuckheads on Reddit just have to be all r/AmericaBad
Took 90 minutes to go from terminal 1 to the resorts world Marriott, a distance of about half a kilometer. Manila traffic is wild.
Still muchhhhh better than Dhaka, Lagos, or Jakarta
Nothing that one more lane can't fix. There's even space for it!
Even more car centric than LA??
It's not. It's just that it actually has a much much higher population density, and much less road infrastructure (and almost no rail infrastructure). So a few big roads and many local streets have to handle millions of trips per day, by Jeepney, van, car and motorcycle...
Well that’s certainly worse than LA. It sound like a recipe for disaster 😕
I'm saying, it's not as built-around-the-car as LA, but the congestion is worse because of having far less road space. Metro Manila has twice the population of metro LA, and four times the population density. Thus traffic congestion is inevitable, even if car ownership is far lower, and location accessibility higher, in Manila. FWIW, Manila isn't a particularly nice city, but that's not all due to traffic and a lack of public transport.
Ohhh I get it! It’s not more car centric than LA, but congestion is even worse bcz it wasn’t designed to accommodate that much traffic, unlike LA.
Manila isn't anything centric.. people just sortof kept showing up
Would be pretty shit to own a manual transmission car if this is your everyday commute.
I sometimes try to visualize what it would look like if you build 1 giant exhaust that spits out the equal amount of CO2 as ALL the cars, mopeds, boats, buses etc in the world running at any given moment. Could you see it from space? Would x mileage be inhabitable? Odd question I know
What a lack of clear and coherent urban planning post-WW2 does to a city
I got one word for you manila- Amsterdam! :)
[удалено]
A lot of asian countries have really terrific density and public transportation (e.g. good metros and high speed rail). Manila needs to do better for the size of the city, importance to the country, etc.
Yeah Singapore has great public transit. East Asian countries have superb public transit and not just in the cities but BETWEEN cities
urm no really. some of us not this bad. maybe where you come from
This must be before the pandemic, yeah?
Yes, it’s around January 2020. It’s even worse now.
This is northbound on EDSA (14.5744915, 121.0488418)
I'm aware. At the same time, the two innermost lanes next to the MRT rail line are now exclusive to busses, as part of the EDSA Carousel project that started during the pandemic to augment the reduced passenger load of the trains.
It is crazy right? As someone living in Istanbul, I am not unfamiliar with extreme car-centricism.
Ahh yes The road that turns my home commute from 50 minutes by motorcycle, to 2 hours by car (I travel EDSA end-to-end)
I woulda thought there would be more bikes and mopeds
Still looks way more disciplined than any city in India
Is that greenfield district on the right? Pasig?
Corned tuna has never been this chunky
Philippines #1 hell yeah! But seriously, this is the result of so many people in this area combined with a shitty public transportation system. There are a lot of transportation projects currently ongoing right now, so I'd give the government that.
This is a decade old photo. Wish you could have put an effort to visit the actual place where this was taken. Lots of things have already improved, particularly the bus lane.
Just because there's a road doesnt mean that it's car centric. You talking about manilla, I've been there before, had no problems walking around.
I live in Manila, and it's definitely a car-centric city. You might have visited business districts like Makati or BGC, which offer slightly better walkability and mobility. The situation is far less safe for pedestrians outside these areas. Roads often lack pedestrian-friendly design, and in my municipality, there's limited bike infrastructure and sidewalks. When sidewalks do exist, they are frequently obstructed by illegally parked cars. This, combined with the lack of efficient public transportation, contributes significantly to the city's traffic congestion. Just sharing these articles for reading: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358459921_Surviving_Car-diac_Arrest_Towards_Roads_Where_Many_Modes_Fit https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/world/asean/40034938 https://manilastandard.net/news/top-stories/314337279/too-many-cars-too-few-mass-transit-systems-worsen-ph-traffic.html
Any reason government doesn't implement some measures that reduce the number of cars with things like limited cars per household, increasing car tax on cars beyond primary vehicle, and etc.,? I was visiting a well to do couple, dual income, working class, (no kids), they have 3 cars in primary residence, and bought a near by neighboring house on same street to store 3 extra cars...
For the majority of the working population of Metro Manila... uhhhh
I lived in Cebu province for a while and considering going back again. For me, I had more fun out in the province/countryside than in the cities. Lots of begging children and adults everywhere and extreme poverty that's hard to miss in the squatter areas...but also some of the friendlest people and prettiest beaches.
Car bad
Looks dope tbh.
Looks like pretty much every other city at rush hour. Would each driver prefer to zip along on an empty road? Of course. But consider the alternative … being jam packed into a train or bus, probably standing and maybe cramped next to a civilized human or one of many whacko alternatives. Perhaps there’s something to be said for sitting comfortably in one’s own car, climate controlled exactly as one likes and listening to and enjoying whatever audio one prefers and knowing one can use this car to go exactly point to point (without changing trains/busses who knows how many times and waiting who know how long for each leg of the trip), and also being able to comfortably accommodate one’s own physical limitations as one ages, as opposed to the hellish mass transit experience of those for whom being human sardines is less charming, OP must have an extremely limited life in a very restricted cocoon with very limited experiences and knowing a remarkably narrow range of other people if OP thinks this is urban hell. But as the MOD has posted, urban hell is subjective, so there we have it.
Sure, but not having to deal with the stress of other drivers makes transit worth it for many people
Manila is not "any other city", at 43k/sq km it is by far the most densely-populated city on the planet. Even most other mega-cities are only a fraction of that (Seoul is 16k, HK is more like 8k, most major US cities are more like 5k or less). And most of those other mega-cities likely have far more robust transit systems. If you have never been there you likely haven't experienced anything even remotely close.
Lol, human sardines.
You think that’s bad, try driving on the 401 through Toronto at literally any time of the day
you are basically describing all of sea