NCR daily car volume rises to 3.6 million

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December 13, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — An average of 3.6 million cars are traversing Metro Manila roads each day, and the number is expected to rise in the run-up to Christmas Day, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said.

MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said the figure is higher by more than 10 percent when compared to the previous record of 3.2 million cars on average two years ago.

Along EDSA alone, Artes said the volume of cars rose from a daily average of 400,000 in early November to around 434,000 two weeks ago, when EDSA is supposed to carry only around 250,000 vehicles in a day.

“This is the highest number we have ever recorded,” Artes told dzRH in Filipino yesterday.

With more employees receiving their Christmas bonuses and 13th month pay and eventually doing Christmas shopping, Artes said the MMDA “expects another five to 10 percent increase” in car volume “until next week.”

He added that public roads and highways in Metro Manila are becoming more congested as the government continues to implement public transport infrastructure projects, such as the Metro Rail Transit Line 7, the common station for MRT-3 and Light Rail Transit 1, the subway and the North-South Commuter Railway.

Aside from the growing number of vehicles, Artes said more frequent road accidents, especially during rush hours, contribute to traffic gridlocks.

Despite worsening traffic congestion, Artes believes the bus carousel system provides relief to commuters, with its uninterrupted exclusive lane along EDSA.

Artes said the system could also use more buses to accommodate the growing number of passengers using the carousel.