24 November 2008
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For years now, rapid population growth of commuters and vehicles have plagued Metro Manila, the socioeconomic center of the Philippines. Heavy traffic, pollution and all the associated undesired results have been problems that Metro Manila residents have to contend with daily.

 A glimpse into history shows the Kalesa, a horse-drawn carriage, as the prevalent mode of transportion during the Spanish Era.  In 1905, a Tranvia (or Tramvia), the electric street tramway, came into service.  The Tranvia was operated by the Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company (Meralco); It provided a cheap and efficient transport service for the 220,000 inhabitants during the period. The service was stopped before the Second World War.  Afterwards, surplus army jeeps were converted into the famous “jeepneys”; capable of seating about 12 to 15 passengers on longitudinal benches behind the driver’s partition.  Public and private buses with fixed stops and timetables operated side-by-side with the jeepneys on the outer corridors.

At present, the Epifanio De Los Santos Avenue, otherwise known as EDSA, is the 24-kilometer stretch from MacArthur Highway in Caloocan City, north of Metro Manila, to Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, south of Metro Manila.

Considered one of the world’s highest-volume thoroughfares, EDSA is a semicircular ring road link with several radial passageways leading to the metropolis’ social, economic and political centers. This avenue cuts across the cities of Caloocan, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati and Pasay and bounds Pasig City and the town of San Juan. 

EDSA’s importance to the lives of more than 8 million people or 12 percent of the country’s 68 million citizens who live in Metro Manila cannot be underestimated. Added to the capital’s growing population are the transients and migrants who come to stay in Metro Manila in search of opportunities. Every birth, traveller and newcomer are potential commuters who will likely join more than 2.8 million people already using EDSA. At the same time, every birth, transient and migrant are potential car owners likely to occupy 4.6 meters by 2.7 meters, the average car area of street space. 

The fast growing pedestrian and vehicle population has become a major headache for metropolitan planners who concede that Metro Manila’s roads, which comprise less than 10 percent of the country’s network, cannot adequately accommodate pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Streets in the metropolis expand by less than two percent annually.      Statistics add that traffic have caused the loss of over Php 15 billion yearly due to lost man hours, repairs, maintenance and lost fuel. Added to these  are the unquantifiable discomfort commuters and vehicle-owners come up against when they travel through major streets.  Even worse, heavy traffic is taking its toll on the nation’s social and economic developments. Traffic in Metro Manila is expected to nearly resemble nerve-wracking conditions in Bangkok, Houston, Cairo and a few other parts of the world. Experts agree that a long-term solution, beyond just keeping vehicles off the streets, is imperative. One of the solutions that the government sponsored was the establishment of the EDSA MRT3 System.             
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