The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has reported that Metro Manila is the most congested city in Asia.
ADB’s Macroeconomic Research Division director Abdul Abiad said the metropolis was the most congested natural city.
Natural cities are those with a population of more than 5 million.
Also on the list of Most Congested Cities are Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Yangon City (Myanmar), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Bengaluru (India).
Factors included in making the congestion list were traveler’s time lost, vehicle operating cost and air pollution.
We calculated the ratio of driving duration during a peak hour to the off-peak hour between two locations in each direction and averaged across two opposite directions to obtain a congestion index for each location pair, which basically indicated the time needed to travel in peak-hour traffic relative to free-flowing traffic,” the ADB said.
The ADB says that congested cities need effective transport system for it to become pioneers of economic growth and development.
“Addressing weak infrastructure, congestion, housing, and education and health care services is critical if cities — and their host countries — are to remain dynamic,” the ADB said in a statement.
