2018 Holiday Guide: How To Navigate And Survive The Christmas Carmageddon

6 min read By eCompareMo on December 14, 2018

We’re calling it: The 2018 Carmageddon will commence on December 14.

Every holiday season, the stretch of Edsa turns into a long chain of Christmas lights because of the infamous Christmas traffic.

Traffic has become the new normal, so much so that we have turned the whole crisis into one big joke. Hey, this is the Philippines, right? We just laugh at our misfortune, hoping laughter will drown the furious sound of vehicles stuck in traffic.

Although we can rant or post stuff like “let the foolish riders beg” (wink wink) all we want, we have no choice but to roll with the punches and make adjustments to our commuting patterns. If you want to survive the upcoming Christmas Carmageddon, follow this guide in escaping the nightmare that is Metro Manila traffic.

(Read: Where To Spend Christmas This 2018: Hip Holiday Happenings)

Take advantage of these routes

Private vehicle owners know the Mabuhay Lane by heart. Also dubbed as the Christmas Lane, these are alternate routes prescribed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) that would allow motorists to traverse the capital without passing through major thoroughfares.

However, Mabuhay Lanes aren’t your only friend in getting around much more efficiently. Just in time for the holiday rush, use these alternate routes to your advantage:

• Otis Bridge is passable again to motorists starting this month. After it collapsed earlier this year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) constructed a new six-lane bridge that replaced the 50-year-old one. Now that the Otis Bridge is available to the public again, you can escape the traffic buildup on Quirino Avenue and Osmeña Highway to get around Manila.
• The Laguna Lake Highway has been completed, which is beneficial for people who are coming from portions of Rizal like Cainta and Taytay. With the route more commonly known as C6 now passable, travel time from Rizal and Pasig to southern Metro Manila has been significantly reduced and vice versa. People no longer have to pass through Ortigas Avenue and portions of C5 Road just to go down south.

Take the point-to-point bus

These are not your average rowdy buses that ply the metro’s busy highways. Point-to-point (P2P) buses are a godsend to commuters who are willing to throw money at the expense of convenience.

Although it enjoys patronage from thousands of commuters already, some people still don’t know the terminals, the routes, and schedule—and that is one of our gifts to you this season:

From Alabang South Station Terminal

• To Market Market Mall

Price: P100 standard fare, P80 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., buses leave every 20 minutes until 9 a.m. and every 30 minutes from 9 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

From Alabang Town Center

• To Greenbelt 1

Price: P100 standard fare, P64 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., buses leave every 15 minutes until 9 am and every 30 minutes from 9 am until 9 p.m.

• To Lawton

Price: P180 standard fare, P80 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes until 9 am and hourly from 9 am until 6 pm

• To Market Market Mall

Price: P100 standard fare, P80 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes

From Antipolo Triangle Mall

• To Robinsons Galleria

Price: P50 standard fare

Schedule: 4:50 a.m. to 6:50 p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes until 8:20 a.m., hourly from 8:50 a.m. to 3:50 p.m., and every 30 minutes from 4:50 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.

From Araneta Center

• To Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Price: P100 standard fare

Schedule: from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., buses leave every two hours

From Ayala Mall South Park

• To Greenbelt 5

Price: P100 standard fare

Schedule: 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., buses leave every 30 minutes

From Eastwood

• To Glorietta 3

Price: P85 standard fare

Schedule: 6:45 a.m. to 10:15 p.m., buses leave every 45 minutes until 9 a.m., every 90 minutes from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and every 30 minutes from 5:15 p.m. to 10:10 p.m.

• To Makati-Central Business District

Price: P100 standard fare, P80 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 5:45 am to 9:15 pm, buses leave 30 minutes until 8:45 am, every 90 minutes from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, and every 30 minutes from 4:45 pm to 9:15 pm

• To Circuit Makati

Price: P85 standard fare, P68 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 5:45 a.m. to 9:15 p.m., buses leave 30 minutes until 8:45 a.m., every 90 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and every 30 minutes from 4:45 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.

Trinoma-SM North Edsa-SM Megamall-Ayala Park Square loop

• To Trinoma/SM North Edsa/SM Megamall/Ayala Park Square

Price: P50 standard fare

Schedule: 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. at Trinoma, buses leave every 45 minutes; 10 a.m. to 11:16 p.m. at Glorietta 5, buses leave every 45 minutes; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at SM North Edsa, buses leave hourly; and 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at SM Megamall, buses leave every 30 minutes

From NAIA Terminal 3

• To Clark International Airport

Price: P350 standard fare, P400 JoyBus

Schedule: 2 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., buses leave every hour until 8 a.m. and every 90 minutes 12:30 a.m.

(Read: Holiday Travel Tips 2018: Your Guide To The Ninoy Aquino International Airport)

From Robinsons Galleria

• To Glorietta 3

Price: P30 standard fare, P24 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes until 10:30 a.m. and hourly from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

•  To Clark International Airport

Price: P250 standard fare

Schedule: 4:45 a.m. to 10 p.m., buses leave at 4:45 a.m., 6:45 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and hourly from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.

• To Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Price: P70 standard fare

Schedule: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., buses leave at 6 a.m., 7:30 a.m., and hourly from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.

From Robinsons Novaliches

• To Glorietta 3

Price: P100 standard fare, P80 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 4:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes

From SM Cherry Antipolo

• To Greenbelt 5

Price: P80 standard fare, P64 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 pm, buses leave every 30 minutes

From SM City Masinag

• To Greenbelt 5

Price: P60 standard fare, P48 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes until 10 a.m., every hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and every 30 minutes from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

From Starmall Alabang

• To Starmall Edsa-Shaw

Price: P80 standard fare, P64 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 6 a.m. to 8p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes from 6 am to 10:30 am and 3 pm to 6:30 pm and hourly from 12 pm to 2 pm and 7 pm to 8 pm

From Trinoma

• To Ayala Malls The 30th

Price: P100 standard fare, P80 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., buses leave at 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 6 p.m., and 9 p.m.

From UP Town Center

• To Glorietta 3

Price: P60 standard fare, P48 senior citizen/student/PWD

Schedule: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes until 9 a.m., every hour from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and every 30 minutes from 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.

From Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange

• To Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Price: P100 standard fare

Schedule: 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., buses leave every 90 minutes

• To Makati

Schedule: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., buses leave every 30 minutes until 9:30 a.m., hourly from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and every 30 minutes from 4:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Sources: DPWH, Rappler, Sakay.ph