“Basta wag Monday.” That was our team’s consensus when we were deciding on our weekly office day for 2024. But apparently, most people had the same thought last year, because in 2023, traffic congestion was the most manageable on Mondays versus the rest of the workweek.
This is based on the 2023 TomTom Traffix Index—the same study that rated Metro Manila traffic as the worst in the world out of 387 metro areas. If you look at the table comparing travel time per 10km, the Monday column wasn’t as dark red as the other days. Check it out:
Metro Manila daily traffic congestion in 2023 (based on travel time per 10km)
On Mondays last year, traffic congestion peaked at 6am and 7pm, with motorists needing 28min 30sec and 31min to cover 10km, respectively. Gridlock was heaving during morning rush hour than in the evening, and morning congestion is actually worse on Monday versus Friday. But overall, it’s the best day to be on the road out of all the weekdays.
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Several holidays in 2023 also fell on a Monday, or if they fell on a Friday instead, some people may have filed for leave to take four days off. That should have helped ease congestion, too, relative to other days.
Friday, as we’ve mentioned in a previous story, was the worst day to be on the road, justifying our decision to avoid that for our office day. In fact, the 2023 TomTom Traffic Index stated that by working from home on Fridays, you would have saved 47 hours of travel time for the entire year, and cut emissions by 201kg.
Now, suppose you couldn’t opt for Monday as your office day, Thursday is your next best bet. And if you worked from home on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—you would have saved yourself 147 hours of travel time for the entire year, and cut emissions by 608kg.
For the record, this story is being written from the Top Gear office in Makati, because we chose Tuesday as our office day. But that might be something we have to reconsider...
