Day-of-Week Traffic Congestion and Productivity Losses:A Value-of-Time Analysis of a Major IntersectionIn ‎Batangas City

Abstract

Traffic congestion is increasingly recognized not only as a transportation issue but also as a significant source of economic inefficiency, ‎particularly in developing and medium-sized cities. This study estimates congestion-related productivity losses at a major intersection in ‎Batangas City, Philippines, with emphasis on variations across days of the week. Using a value-of-time (VOT) framework, congestion ‎costs were estimated from observed travel time delays and additional fuel consumption during morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) peak ‎hours over seven consecutive days. Traffic data were obtained from closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage provided by the Batangas City Transportation Development Regulatory Office (TDRO) and supplemented by a brief key-informant interview to contextualize ‎the observed traffic conditions. Results show clear day-of-week variation in congestion costs, with weekdays, particularly Mondays, incurring the highest economic and productivity losses. Across all days, time-related productivity loss constituted the dominant share of total ‎congestion cost. The findings highlight how routine traffic delays translate into measurable economic losses and underscore the importance of integrating economic and productivity considerations into local traffic management and policy decisions in growing urban ‎areas‎.