1. Better road design.

The layout of our roads contibute to traffic chaos. Imagine the traffic as a fluid. The more turbulent (chaotic) the flow, the slower the traffic speed.

Example 1: There are several areas in EDSA where the left lane is forced to merge into the next lane to its right. The leftmost lane just disappears. Why? Beacuse the lanes are marked that way. Bad road design. Result - chaos. Solution - The left lane is supposed to be the fast lane. It should be laid out in such a way that vehicles travelling on it are not forced to swerve into the adjacent lane.

Example 2: Again at EDSA, the number of lanes varies. Flyovers have 3 lanes but the number of lanes leading into the flyover is always greater. Result - bottleneck. Solution - Maintain 3 lanes at EDSA by having a dividing island separating the 3 lanes from the service road. Once upon a time, EDSA had those islands but the authorities removed them.

2. Implement a better public utility vehicle system.

Is there such a thing? Yes there is and it's called the bus convoy. Here's how it works:

Public ultility buses move in groups. They act as if they are connected to each other - like a train, but more flexible. They arrive at bus stops as a group and they leave as a group. Result - No chaos at bus stops and the buses take up only one lane. And by keeping the bus lane as a buses only lane, the buses will not be held back by passenger car traffic and can be scheduled. Everybody wins - Passenger car lanes will flow smoothly because buses won't be stopping there. Bus passengers get to their destinations faster. Bus companies will have more profits because buses won't be stuck in traffic. Bus drivers will not be stressed.

But can the bus convoy work in Manila? Come on guys, it isn't rocket science.