WE often hear statistics about how bad our traffic is — how much time is wasted, how slow our vehicles travel, and the P3.5 billion daily economic cost of road congestion in Greater Manila. These figures are often used to justify polices and infrastructure to make vehicles go faster. The problem is that the focus on vehicle mobility is not only ineffective — it also makes things worse for the majority of Filipinos.
Car owners (myself included) comprise only 6 percent of households nationwide (and about 12 percent of households in Greater Manila). Car users represent not only a minority but also one privileged to travel in isolation, and with relative comfort and convenience. Car users need to appreciate that the rest of society — the 94 percent who are carless — have been systematically deprived of the use of urban roads, rendering them less mobile and less safe.
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