How to Survive Cebu Traffic as a Commuter
Cebu City, the “Queen City of the South”, as what people called the “second Manila”, is one of the most emerging cities in the Philippines.
Cebu City is the central city of Cebu Province. It has a population of 922,611 based on 2015 census and most of the people here came from different places in Luzon and Mindanao.
Cebu City is also part of “Metro Cebu”, which consists of four major cities – Talisay, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu City. Metro Cebu has a population of 2,849,213 as of 2015.
With the growing population, this factor contributes to the traffic situation.
People often ask, why is the traffic in Cebu that bad? We have to consider many factors such as vehicular accidents, defective traffic lights, low down payment on cars, etc.
Car companies nowadays often have promos such as “low down payment” or “zero down payment” at all.
As the traffic problem seems to get worse every year, here’s a tip to help you survive the traffic in Cebu as a commuter:
If you want to get to your workplace on time, you have to leave the house early. The “rush hour” in Cebu starts as early as 5:30 in the morning and ends approximately at 8:30-9:00 in the morning.
The 3-hour window where people rush their way to their respective destination is the time you don’t want to get yourself in.
Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) are not the only problem, passengers as well! If you caught yourself in the middle of the rush hour, good luck!
On the other hand, if your work shift ends at 5 p.m., you really need to have more patience than usual. In the afternoon, rush hour slowly starts at 4:30-4:45 in the afternoon and it ends at around 8:30-9:00 in the evening. Imagine how hard is it for you to get home after a long day’s work.
Commuters nowadays use motorcycle ride-hailing app or hail “habal-habal” to get to their destination faster than usual, only it’s costly than the P8 minimum jeep fare.
Private car owners aren’t also an exemption on what people called “carmageddon”.
It’s safe to say that the most effective way to avoid rush hour and hassle is to wake up early and leave home early. (MLC)
