Choking Congestions
Traffic is among the most present and talked-about issues in the lives of city people.
On 14 December 2017, we reported and broadcasted straight from the heart of morning rush-hour traffic in cities across Asia.
THE ISSUE
Asia is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Tens of millions of people are added to the urban space annually. The Asian Development Bank puts that number at 120,000 people a day. The magnitude of the urban sprawl is visible even miles away and is best captured in this NASA photograph taken at night.
A swell in the spending power of the middle class has accompanied these burgeoning populations. With it, a boom in the car and motorcycle industries. Since the 1980s, the number of wheels on the road have doubled every seven to ten years.
Unfortunately in many countries, urban planning has been unable or unwilling to shoulder these developments. It has placed an enormous strain on the mobility of people and goods, and is pulling at the strings of modern urban living in the Asian continent. People are losing a substantial portion of their lives in transit on the roads, while breathing in toxic air and being enveloped in noise pollution.
The economic and public health implications are mounting. Along with those are the glaring social side-effects: rising stress and frustration amongst motorists, women giving birth in traffic jams (Bangkok’s traffic police have now been trained to help deliver), people missing social gatherings, children spending lesser time with working parents, and emergency services arriving too late to save.
The “most congested” city in Asia changes depending on the measuring factor. At 64 hours, Bangkok leads the list for average peak hours spent stuck in traffic. Whereas Dhaka tops for the average driving speed falling even slower than 7kph. Majority of the reports point to Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila as worst off. The gravity of the situation hits when even Singapore, with its well-developed public transportation system implements a rule curbing the purchase of new cars from February 2018.
Beijing
BEIJING’S CROWDED CORE
Produced by Cheng Chen/ China Daily Asia
Locally reported by Andrew Xing/ China Daily
China’s capital city Beijing, houses 22 million people and 6 million vehicles. In 2015, this led to each resident waiting an average three hours on the roads during severe traffic congestions, according to the 2016 annual report of Beijing Transport Research Center.
With clusters of major businesses, and financial and administrative institutions located in central Beijing, areas within the second ring road occupy 6 per cent of Beijing’s urban space, but generate 30 per cent of the daily volume of traffic. Integrated urban planning is difficult here as 60 per cent of the city’s historical sites lie in the second ring road. Beijing is also segmented by huge commercial and residential blocks, leaving most vehicles with no escape route. A joke among Beijing drivers goes that on the second ring road you’re in second gear, on the third you’re in third, and so on.
Beijing’s economy has grown rapidly, and so has car ownership. The government plans to limit the number of cars on the road to 6.3 million in 2020, and has also pledged to slash the number of license plates issued by one-third. From 2018, only 100,000 cars will be available per year.
Beijing invested 330 billion yuan ($50 billion) in infrastructure for transport between 2011-2015, with 75.7 per cent going to public transport. But more than 60 per cent of daily commuters opt for car or bus according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Transportation
Meanwhile, car-hailing apps are gaining popularity. In the first five months of 2016, there were 278,000 people using Didi, China’s biggest ride-sharing app. Interestingly, during rush hours, 20 per cent of the trips started or ended within 500 meters from subway stations. Bike-sharing apps have also caught on as one of the most easy-to-use means of transport to cover the “extra one kilometer” from people’s homes and office buildings to metro and bus stations.
Plans are underway to ease the city of its congested roads. The municipal government is likely to move to its eastern suburban area of Tongzhou district. And in April 2017, China introduced the Xiongan new area in Beijing’s neighboring Hebei province. This is designed to serve as a development hub for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic triangle. Authorities have emphasized that Xiongan will shoulder some of Beijing’s “non-capital functions” to help unburden Beijing.
WHAT’S ON THE ROAD IN BEIJING?
COVER PHOTO HOMEPAGE: Bumper to bumper evening traffic in central Beijing. Photo by Thomas Peter/REUTERS.
Ho Chi Minh City
HEAVILY CLOGGED METRO CITY
Produced by Demi Wu/ China Daily Asia
Local reported by Trương An Phương/ Việt Nam News
In Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, traffic congestions are a way of life. HCMC is home to 8 million people and everyday the city is flooded with an estimated 8.5 million motorcycles and 620,000 cars. The city’s current planning is adapted for a population of 10 million by the year 2020, but the number of people is expected to exceed that calculation. Meanwhile, efforts for boosting public transportation are falling behind the demand from commuters.
In the last decade, HCMC invested more than 5 per cent of its annual GDP into transport infrastructure. This is much higher than the public investment in transportation in most other countries which is about 2 to 2.5 per cent of the GDP. The city build flyovers, widened roads, and started work on the urban railway system.
The first MTR line has three underground stops and 11 above. Construction began in 2008, but the project still hasn’t reached fruition. Once ready, it is estimated to serve 160,000 passengers daily and shorten the commute time drastically.
Despite serious efforts, Ho Chi Minh City still struggles with the same congestion challenges, and it is yet to be seen if they can be eased by a comprehensive public transportation system.
WHAT’S ON THE ROAD IN HO CHI MINH CITY?
COVER PHOTO HOMEPAGE: A street full of motorcyclists during rush hour in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest urban area. Photo by Hoang Dinh Nam, AFP.
Dhaka
THE UNSAVORY JAM
Produced by Feliks Cheang/ China Daily Asia.
Locally reported by Ananta Yusuf/ The Daily Star.
Of all the traffic congestions that plague the world’s megacities, none may be more horrendous than that of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital. A total of about 3.2 million working hours is eaten up daily and that loss translates to 12.6 billion dollars wasted every year in Dhaka due to traffic gridlocks.
Home to over 18 million people and one million registered motor vehicles, Dhaka lacks the infrastructure and public transport to keep up with its expanding population. Data from the World Bank shows the average traffic speed falling from 6.5 kph today to 4.7 kph by the year 2035. That’s as slow as walking, and an inevitable path if vehicle growth continues at the current pace without substantial investments in transport.
Minimal road construction aside, currently there is no urban rail system, the number of illegal rickshaws are surging, and buses are not joined in a city-wide network; they have been known to stop in the middle of the road to let passengers on and off.
The traffic mayhem takes its toll on the Dhakaites’ daily life –– in no way less significant than financial loss. People refrain from visiting their friends and relatives, students risk missing their scheduled admission tests, and people tend to have no motivation to attend wedding receptions and birthday parties – fearing some disastrous traffic scene.
The government has updated its strategic plan for traffic management for the next 20 years. The proposals would mean spending US$45 billion on rail lines, bus rapid transits, flyovers, and other infrastructures in the metropolitan Dhaka. Yet, it is projected that the city’s population density will increase by 50 per cent in the next two decades.
WHAT’S ON THE ROAD IN DHAKA?
COVER PHOTO HOMEPAGE: A Dhaka intersection on January 7, 2016. Photo by Munir uz Zaman/ AFP.
Manila
WHEN TRAFFIC DICTATES LIFE
Produced by Anna Verghese/ China Daily Asia
Locally reported by Jovic Yee/ The Inquirer
Locally produced by Sara Pacia/ The Inquirer
With nearly 13 million inhabitants, Metro Manila is the second-most populous region of the Philippines. The frustrations and stories of unending traffic congestion tend to rule their lives to the point of a cliché. Except that it may be leading to tangible changes in societal and familial structures.
In Manila’s business districts five dormitories are currently under construction for the sole purpose of housing workers, mostly young professionals. Firms can lease out entire floors and keep their workers close, while avoiding the time wasted sitting in traffic jams. Similar projects that focus on small studio apartments are also mushrooming.
But this raises questions about the quality of life the work force is being guided into in Manila—the city which is at the heart of economic growth in the Philippines. Yet the capital city struggles with poor infrastructure, yearly flooding, and inadequate public transportation, while sales in the automative industry rapidly grow.
In 2016, there was a 24 per cent increase in the sale of vehicles with 359,572 units being sold. In 2017, the number of units sold hit 500,000. These numbers exclude motorcycles. The sale of two-wheelers alone was 1 million in 2016. The number of vehicles and disorder on the roads has also led to a large number of accidents. In 2016, road accidents recorded stood at 109,322.
The jeepney, a local icon, has also been blamed for causing traffic chaos and a move is on to modernize them. But this has been met with opposition, with local transport groups holding protests in early December 2017.
The choked roadways and frustrations of the populace have pushed the government to try and ease the congestion. They plan to spend $170 billion on infrastructure programs. But it is still doubtful whether the city’s infrastructure can keep up with its people’s economic aspirations.
WHAT’S ON THE ROAD IN MANILA?
PHOTO HOMEPAGE: Jeepneys and a law enforcer in a busy street in Manila. Photo by: Noel Celis/ AFP.
Delhi
DELHI’S CHRONIC CONGESTION
Produced by Natasha Fernandes/ China Daily Asia
Locally reported by Anjana Raghav, Health and Transport Reporter/ The Statesman
Delhi’s traffic woes are never-ending and the solutions have been few and futile.
Some of the key contributors to these traffic jams all year around, include the growing number of people and vehicles, the lack of government control over how roads are built, and an inadequate public transport system.
In an economy where two-wheelers are more affordable for most people, Delhi’s roads are clogged with them. And the public transport infrastructure hasn’t fully met the city’s needs, despite constantly being under construction and delaying commuters. Meanwhile the number of private cars have increased and so have the potholes.
Those who moved out of the Delhi and into suburbs like Gurugram and Noida, have no respite either, as the population continues to grow. Many who live in Gurugram and work in Delhi, face an absolute nightmare every time they’re on the road trying to get to work, school, or home. A deficiency of governmental action and malfunctioning traffic signals have worsened the congestion between these two areas.
Time is precious, they say, and in a place like Delhi where getting stuck in traffic takes up a lot of ones’s life, most people start their work day sitting in cars.
And the toxic smog that blanketed the capital this autumn only made things worse, reducing visibility, and creating more chaos on the roads. The excessive pollution was a result of harvested crop stubs being burnt in neighboring states. Officials were forced to declare a public health emergency with pollution levels exceeding the WHO limit.
Efforts to better the traffic conditions in Delhi are still not conclusive. Attempts like the Odd-Even Scheme, where vehicles with car numbers ending in an even number drive on even-number days and vice versa, showed minor improvements but failed as a sustainable solution.
WHAT’S ON THE ROAD IN DELHI?
COVER PHOTO HOMEPAGE: A traffic policeman on a smoggy morning in New Delhi. October 20, 2017. Photo by Saumya Khandelwal/REUTERS.
Bangkok
BANGKOK’S BUSTLING ROADS
Produced by Frentee Ji/ China Daily Asia
Locally reported by Thasong Asvasena/ The Nation
Bangkok, the Thai capital, has long had a reputation for horrific traffic congestions and ranks the worst in Asia, and second in the world after Mexico City. In a 2016 study by INRIX Inc., showed that commuters spent an average 64.1 peak hours in congestion in Bangkok. But who’s to blame?
As Thailand’s most populated city, Bangkok has a population of over 9 million. Vehicles are exceeding the capacity that the roads can accommodate. The total number of vehicles registered in Bangkok as of July 2017 is 9,590,147.
The lack of smart urban planning and regulation has resulted in Bangkok’s sparse infrastructure, but the government is now ramping up spending on infrastructure projects to support the city’s economic growth.
Besides the rising number of private cars on the road and poor road conditions, people’s driving habits have also been blamed and is viewed as a major cause for the jams. Cars parked in restricted areas, driving in the wrong lane, and running red lights- only further fuels the commotion and crammed space. There is a crying need for more stringent enforcement of traffic laws. Ironically, in August 2017, 10 per cent of Bangkok’s 3,719 traffic police officers failed the test on traffic laws.
WHAT’S ON THE ROAD IN BANGKOK?
COVER PHOTO: Traffic during rush hour in Bangkok, Thailand, June 16, 2017. Photo by Jorge Silva/ REUTERS.
Jakarta
GETTING OLD ON THE ROAD
Locally reported by Agnes Anya/ The Jakarta Post
Locally produced by Bayu Widhiatmoko/ The Jakarta Post
A large number of people have swarmed to the Indonesian capital with jobs, but without the ability to afford the city’s rising house prices. This has led to roughly 3.5 million people commuting between Jakarta and neighboring cities on a daily basis. Jakarta’s economy may be booming, but the city’s traffic jams are one of the world’s worst.
Tua di jalan is a famous local saying, which means “getting old on the road”. Earlier this year the Indonesian president walked for several kilometers in the scorching heat after his motorcade got stuck. The traffic congestion spares no one.
Horrible traffic jams are mainly due to transport infrastructure that’s notoriously lagging behind. And there is no metro rail system as yet. One subway line with 13 stations is expected by 2018.
A few years back, the city adopted a Bus Rapid Transit system (provided by TransJakarta), which allows buses to operate on designated roads where private vehicles and scooters aren’t allowed. Measures such as odd-even systems, motorbike bans on certain roads, and weekend “car-free day” have also been undertaken.
But these steps have not dramatically helped, as ownership of cars and scooters continue to increase in the city. People still feel that such private vehicles are the most efficient way to get around. Meanwhile, scooter and car hailing apps have become popular. Companies like Go-Jek – a motorcycle sharing and delivery app – saw instant success thanks to the poor state of the public transport in Jakarta.
WHAT’S ON JAKARTA’S ROADS
COVER PHOTO HOMEPAGE: A noodle stall on a street divider in Jakarta. Photo by: Goh Chai Hin/ AFP.
OUTRO
Choking Congestions is a project organised by China Daily Asia, in collaboration with the China Daily headquarters in Beijing and multiple media partners from the Asia News Network.
THE TEAM
Overall project management and design, Claudia Hinterseer
Text content editor, Anna Verghese
On the road in Beijing:
Cheng Chen, Multimedia Producer/China Daily Asia
Andrew Xing, Reporter/ China Daily
On the road in Manila:
Anna Verghese, Managing Multimedia Producer/ China Daily Asia
Jovic Yee, Reporter/ The Inquirer
Sara Pacia, Producer/ The Inquirer
On the road in Jakarta:
Andrea Deng, Managing Multimedia Producer/ China Daily Asia
Agnes Anya, Reporter (on camera)/ The Jakarta Post
Bayu Widhiatmoko, Multimedia Editor/ The Jakarta Post
I Gede Dharma JS, Videographer/ The Jakarta Post
On the road in Ho Chi Minh City:
Demi Wu, Multimedia Producer/ China Daily Asia
Trương An Phương, Reporter/ Việt Nam News
On the road in Bangkok:
Frentee Ji, Multimedia Producer/ China Daily Asia
Thasong Asvasena, Reporter/ The Nation
On the road in Dhaka:
Feliks Cheang Kai, Multimedia Producer/ China Daily Asia
Ananta Yusuf, Reporter/ The Daily Star
On the road in Delhi:
Natasha Fernandes, Multimedia Producer/ China Daily Asia
Anjana Raghav, Reporter Health and Transport/ The Statesman
In the Hong Kong studio:
Presenters
DJ Clark, Multimedia Director/ China Daily Asia,
Timo Chui, Managing Multimedia Producer/ China Daily Asia
Tech
Peter Lin, Senior Multimedia Producer/ China Daily Asia
Producer
Claudia Hinterseer, Managing Multimedia Producer/China Daily Asia
Studio guest
Professor Yap Kioe Sheng, Traffic & Urbanization expert.
For the past 35 years, urban anthropologist Dr. Yap Kioe Sheng has worked as an academic, a consultant and a UN official throughout Asia (Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Lao PDR and Viet Nam) and Africa. For more than a decade he was affiliated with the Housing and Urban Development Department at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, first as Associate Professor, later as Professor. He’s currently an Honorary Professor of Housing at the School of Planning and Geography of Cardiff University. Dr Yap has published books and articles on urban poverty, low-income housing and urbanization, including the 2015 publication “Urbanization in Southeast Asia, Issues and Impacts”.
Support at China Daily Asia in Hong Kong:
Ida Song, Deputy Editor-in-Chief/ China Daily Asia
Tanya Wang, Marketing Executive/ China Daily Asia
Billy Wong, Graphic Design/ China Daily Asia
SPONSORING
The realization of the Choking Congestions project was possible thanks to the support given by Honor. The Honor V10 AI smartphone was used during the live broadcasts in all seven cities.
The Honor V10.
VISUAL MATERIAL
Videos by China Daily Asia
Line-drawings via Shutterstock
Stock video and photography via AFP and Reuters
PROJECT INFORMATION
Choking Congestions is a China Daily Red Letter Project; quarterly collaborative multimedia creations that seek to push the boundaries of journalism through the use of new technologies.
On 14 December 2017, a team of producers, reporters and anchors experimented with live broadcasting via social media, as they sunk into the morning rush hours of seven major Asian metropolises. Through interviews with their seasoned drivers and invited guests, they zoomed in to examine the local problems of traffic congestion and the challenges around easing it.
The online audience was taken along to witness traffic jams unfold in a 4.5-hour live broadcast on Facebook.
In Beijing, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Jakarta, Dhaka, and Delhi, a two-hour road trip was made from approximately 7am to 9am during peak hours. Carefully mapped out routes allowed viewers to witness the mayhem not just in their own city but across Asia, whilst listening to local tales and informed analysis.
Anchored from Hong Kong in the China Daily studio, netizens had a chance to pose questions, make observations, and discuss sticky points with traffic and urbanization expert, Professor Kioe Sheng Yap.