Marcos: Govt moving away from ‘car-centric’ trasport system to ease Metro Manila traffic

BENGALURU, India– President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government has started improving its public transport system to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila caused by an overabundance of private vehicles.

In the latest episode of his podcast aired on Thursday, the President said there were “examples around the world, where traffic has become extreme because people have no public transport — no buses, no trains, no subway.”

“Of course, everyone needs to buy a vehicle. They buy a motorcycle or a car. That’s why traffic has gotten so bad,” he added.

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Marcos said his administration was working to improve public transportation in Metro Manila to reduce one-way commute time to less than one hour.

“I think this so-called ‘car-centric’ approach is over– we’ve taken it as far as we can,” the President said.

“Usually in planning, the commute — whether going to work or heading home — should not exceed one hour one way. That’s the goal,” he added.

Aside from building new train lines, Marcos said the administration was also adding trains to existing lines to boost passenger capacity.

He was referring to the refurbished “Dalian trains”–named after the city in China where the trains were manufactured–that were recently added to the MRT-3 line after being mothballed for a decade.

“It’s 10 years old already, They’re already 10 years old and haven’t been used. It’s only now that they’re being put to use,” Marcos said.

“They were fixed up, and it turns out they could be modified to work here in the Philippines. So, that will be added capacity,” he added.

The President also highlighted the Metro Manila Subway project, which would connect Valenzuela City to Pasay City.

“We’re also working on the roads. We’re about to have our subway. This is the first time that we have a subway here in the Philippines,” Marco said.

“These are solutions so that life will be a little easier, so that life will be more convenient, you know, going to work,” he added.

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