Could Telecommuting Ease the Philippines' Transit Woes?

Posted May 12, 2008

The transport strike scheduled for today raises a question in our minds: could telecommuting ease the Philippines' transit woes? The strike highlights what makes it a bit hard for many Filipinos who have to commute to work everday: the increasing gasoline prices have led to more expensive transit fares, and will probably continue to add to commuters' transit costs in the future.

But if more Filipinos telecommute, they would be free from the need to go to the office every morning. The money saved could be used for something else. Even private vehicle owners will benefit from this, they will save a lot in terms of fuel.

Unfortunately, trying to push telecommuting on Filipinos will cause two things: increasing reliance on periodically unreliable Internet services, and the elimination of the jeepney drivers' livelihood. Not to mention not every Filipino can afford to pay for a computer and connectivity in the first place.