How coronavirus brought Southeast Asia’s megacities to a standstill
COVID-19
How coronavirus brought Southeast Asia’s megacities to a standstill
Strict lockdowns, school closures and restrictions on commerce to curb the coronavirus in Southeast Asian countries brought a rare respite from transport mayhem in some of the world’s most congested cities.
The changes were not equally dramatic everywhere as some countries imposed tougher controls than others to try to halt the virus.
Data from Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab shows snapshots of traffic congestion before and during the curbs, delivering a stark, almost startling picture of how the crammed cities came to a halt.
The data collected from GPS location pings from Grab ride-hailing drivers also allows for comparative views of different cities.
Manila
PHILIPPINES
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Quezon
City
Valenzuela
MANILA
Manila Bay
2 km
Wednesday, March 25, 6-9 pm
Quezon
City
Valenzuela
MANILA
Manila Bay
Ninoy Aquino
International
Airport
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, March 25, 6-9 pm
Quezon
City
Quezon
City
Valenzuela
Valenzuela
MANILA
MANILA
Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Ninoy Aquino
International
Airport
2 km
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, March 25, 6-9 pm
Quezon
City
Quezon
City
Valenzuela
Valenzuela
Commonwealth
Avenue
Epifanio Delos Santos
Avenue (EDSA)
MANILA
MANILA
Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Ninoy Aquino
International
Airport
2 km
Wednesday, 15th January, 6-9 pm
Valenzuela
Quezon
City
MANILA
Manila Bay
2 km
Wednesday, 25th March, 6-9 pm
Quezon
City
Valenzuela
MANILA
Manila Bay
Ninoy Aquino
International
Airport
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, March 25, 6-9 pm
Quezon
City
Quezon
City
Valenzuela
Valenzuela
Commonwealth Avenue
Epifanio Delos Santos
Avenue (EDSA)
MANILA
MANILA
Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Ninoy Aquino
International
Airport
Ninoy Aquino
International
Airport
2 km
In Manila, strict home quarantine has kept most of the bustling capital’s 3.5 million registered vehicles off the roads since mid-March and the lockdown has been extended to the end of May, which would stretch it beyond that in China’s central city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged.
Despite its strict movement curbs, the Philippines has struggled to contain the spread compared to its slightly less populous neighbour, Vietnam.
Traffic jams normally cause daily business losses of an estimated $67 million in Manila, but the city’s chronically jammed Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) has been unusually quiet.
An average of 400,000 vehicles use EDSA on a typical day, the transport authority says, but tough lockdown laws in the Philippines have slashed traffic volume, the Grab data snapshots show.
A Reuters crew timed its 23.8-km (15-mile) commute on April 7. It took just 20 minutes versus the normal time of more than two hours. Their route covered the EDSA from end to end.
The video footage below shows the difference in traffic on Commonwealth Avenue, the highway linking the centre of Metro Manila’s most populous areas to its northern suburbs, which also suffers notorious congestion.
Typical rush hour - March 25, 2019
Rush hour traffic along Commonwealth Avenue, Manila. REUTERS
After restrictions - April 7, 2020
Ho Chi Minh City
VIETNAM
Evening traffic is usually gridlocked across most of Ho Chi Minh city. However, snapshots three weeks apart at the same time on the same day of the week show very different pictures. During Vietnam’s lockdown there was no congestion at all, the Grab data shows. But that is starting to change already as Vietnam is easing restrictions earlier than most other countries.
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Saigon River
Thuan An
Di An
Airport
Ho Chi Minh
2 km
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Saigon River
Thuan An
Di An
Nguyen Kiem
roundabout
Usually one of the
most congested
spots in the city
Airport
Ho Chi Minh
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Dau Mot
Saigon River
Thuan An
Di An
Airport
Ho Chi Minh
2 km
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Dau Mot
Saigon River
Thuan An
Di An
Nguyen Kiem roundabout
Usually one of the most
congested spots in the city
Airport
District 1
Ho Chi Minh
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Dau Mot
Dau Mot
Saigon River
Saigon River
Thuan An
Thuan An
Di An
Di An
Airport
Airport
District 1
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
2 km
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Dau Mot
Dau Mot
Saigon River
Saigon River
Thuan An
Thuan An
Di An
Di An
Nguyen Kiem roundabout
Usually one of the most
congested spots in the city
Airport
Airport
District 1
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
2 km
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Dau Mot
Dau Mot
Saigon River
Saigon River
Thuan An
Thuan An
Di An
Di An
Nguyen Kiem roundabout
Usually one of the most
congested spots in the city
Airport
Airport
District 1
District 1
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
2 km
The country of 96 million which shares a border with China is signalling that it has succeeded in containing the virus, unlike many wealthier and more developed nations.
With the government officially reporting only a few cases and no deaths, the country is on course to revive its economy much sooner than most others, said several public health experts interviewed by Reuters.
Jakarta
INDONESIA
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest nation and the world’s fourth most populous, imposed fewer curbs than many neighbours despite having the largest regional death toll of about 1,000, with medical professionals saying they believe the true figure could be significantly higher.
The virus epicentre has been Jakarta, the capital, where city authorities declared a state of emergency on March 20, closing schools and encouraging employees to work from home, though traffic remained notably busier than in cities elsewhere.
Wednesday, Jan.15, 6-9 pm
Java Sea
JAKARTA
Central Jakarta
Airport
2 km
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
Java Sea
JAKARTA
Central Jakarta
Airport
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Java Sea
JAKARTA
National
monument
Central Jakarta
International Airport
2 km
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
Java Sea
JAKARTA
National
monument
Central Jakarta
International Airport
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
Java Sea
Java Sea
JAKARTA
JAKARTA
National
monument
National
monument
Central Jakarta
Central Jakarta
International
Airport
International
Airport
2 km
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
Java Sea
Java Sea
JAKARTA
National
monument
National
monument
JAKARTA
Central Jakarta
Central Jakarta
Halim Perdanakusuma
International Airport
Halim Perdanakusuma
International Airport
2 km
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
Java Sea
Java Sea
JAKARTA
JAKARTA
National
monument
National
monument
Central Jakarta
Central Jakarta
Halim Perdanakusuma
International Airport
Halim Perdanakusuma
International Airport
2 km
Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Malaysia imposed a partial lockdown on March 18 after a surge of cases related to an event at a mosque. It only began to lift curbs this month with many businesses now allowed to operate if they comply with social distancing and other health conditions. Educational institutions remain closed, however.
Kuala Lumpur is known for peak-hour traffic snarl-ups with an average of half a million vehicles on its roads daily. The traffic is already mounting now that curbs have been eased.
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 6-9 pm
Sentul
KUALA LUMPUR
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit Bintang
Taman Maluri
Petaling Jaya
1 km
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Sentul
KUALA LUMPUR
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit Bintang
Taman Maluri
Petaling Jaya
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Sentul
KUALA LUMPUR
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit Bintang
Taman Maluri
Petaling Jaya
1 km
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Sentul
KUALA LUMPUR
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit Bintang
Taman Maluri
Petaling Jaya
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Sentul
Sentul
KUALA LUMPUR
KUALA LUMPUR
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit Bintang
Bukit Bintang
Taman Maluri
Taman Maluri
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
1 km
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Wangsa
Maju
Wangsa
Maju
Sentul
Sentul
KUALA LUMPUR
KUALA LUMPUR
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit Bintang
Bukit Bintang
Taman Maluri
Taman Maluri
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
1 km
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 6-9 pm
Wangsa
Maju
Wangsa
Maju
Sentul
Sentul
Taman Kepong
Taman Kepong
KUALA LUMPUR
KUALA LUMPUR
Taman Tun Dr.
Ismail
Taman Tun Dr.
Ismail
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit
Damansara
Bukit Bintang
Bukit Bintang
Pandan
Indah
Pandan
Indah
Taman Maluri
Taman Maluri
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Taman
Connaught
Taman
Connaught
1 km
Singapore
Drops in traffic in the wealthy city-state of Singapore, which strictly controls the number of its vehicles, have been less noticeable. However, since shutting its borders in mid-March, there has been far less congestion near the northern causeway linking the island to Malaysia, one of the world’s busiest land crossings, and in the east at Changi Airport, a major international transit hub.
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
MALAYSIA
Border
crossing
SINGAPORE
Changi
Airport
Downtown
Strait of
Singapore
2 km
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
Changi
Airport
Downtown
Strait of
Singapore
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Johor Bahru
Sembawang
MALAYSIA
Border
crossing
SINGAPORE
Tampines
Changi
Airport
Toa Payoh
Clementi
Downtown
Strait of
Singapore
2 km
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
Johor Bahru
MALAYSIA
Sembawang
SINGAPORE
Tampines
Changi
Airport
Toa Payoh
Clementi
Downtown
Strait of
Singapore
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Johor Bahru
MALAYSIA
Sembawang
Border
crossing
SINGAPORE
Ang Mo Kio
Tampines
Bukit Batok
Changi
Airport
Toa Payoh
Clementi
Downtown
Strait of
Singapore
2 km
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
Johor Bahru
Sembawang
SINGAPORE
Ang Mo Kio
Tampines
Bukit Batok
Changi
Airport
Toa Payoh
Clementi
Downtown
Strait of
Singapore
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6-9 pm
Johor Bahru
MALAYSIA
Sembawang
Border
crossing
SINGAPORE
Ang Mo Kio
Tampines
Bukit Batok
Changi
Airport
Toa Payoh
Clementi
Downtown
Strait of
Singapore
2 km
Wednesday, April 15, 6-9 pm
Johor Bahru
Sembawang
SINGAPORE
Ang Mo Kio
Tampines
Bukit Batok
Changi
Airport
Toa Payoh
Clementi
Downtown
Strait of
Singapore
Singapore’s nationwide lockdown will run until June 1, and it has advised people to stay home except for essential neighbourhood trips.
By Simon Scarr, Hwei Wen Foo and Manas Sharma.
Additional editing by Matthew Tostevin and Clarence Fernandez.
Source
Grab
Note
A previous version of the article incorrectly labelled Halim Perdanakusuma airport. It has been corrected.