WITH the onset of Christmas rush, travelers should expect increased traffic away from Metro Manila, especially when spending their holiday hiatus in the provinces of Bicol and Pampanga.
Based on the results of Waze Holiday Driving Data 2017 report, Naga and Angeles are the top cities with increased traffic volume—by 2.7 times and 1.8 times, respectively.
Bottlenecks are likewise likely in the southern part of the country, the study revealed.
Bacolod is the third-most heavy urban area, with 1.6 times more in traffic during this time of the year. It is followed by Batangas, 1.4 times; Iligan, 1.4 times; Iloilo City, 1.4 times; Cagayan de Oro, 1.4 times; Davao, 1.3 times; General Santos, 1.3 times; and Zamboanga, 1.2 times.
Given the results, vacationers who plan to go through these areas are advised to schedule hitting the road earlier than usual or just go somewhere else to celebrate.
Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app, collected the above-cited data for this report over the past year.
It also came up with the date and the hours of the day when traffic is at its worst, thus, giving ideas for drivers on how to shorten travel time so families can spend more time together during the Yuletide break.
In the Philippines December 22, which falls on a Friday this year, is the worst day to drive this season, especially from 4 to 6 p.m.
Since it is the time of giving, the country’s traffic situation could somehow contribute to the delay of delivering gifts everywhere.
This is evident in the Waze data that showed how slow it would take for Filipino users of Waze to race to the North Pole (NP) as compared to their counterparts abroad.
Based on the locals’ average driving speed, it will take about 14 days to reach Santa’s house.
In Asia Pacific the Philippines is 1,400 kilometers (km) closer to the NP than Singapore. However, Filipino drivers take eight more days to get there.
Globally, Italian drivers are among the fastest in the race to the NP likely because everyone is driving Ferraris.
As for the return trip to ring in 2018, Waze suggests travelers to shun hitting the roads between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday, December 31, especially if they hope to make it back home in time for New Year’s Eve.
In a race based on Days to NP at 100 km per hour and Days Added Due to Region Speed, Waze ranked the Philippines, followed by Australia and Brazil, as the three slowest countries.
The United States, Italy and France are the three fastest nations to reach NP.
Holiday-related traffic jams for Waze users are groovier as the road guide app tied up with Spotify earlier this year.
With their integration in full swing, their collated data for the most popular songs that drivers usually listen to while away their boredom or madness over heavy traffic caused by holiday rush revealed that Mariah Carey has topped their favorite list with “All I Want for
Christmas Is You.”
This is followed by “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé; “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande; “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)—2010 Digital Remaster” by John Lennon; and “Last Christmas—Remastered” by Wham.