COMPARED to cities in the West or China, Southeast Asia’s urban mobility challenges have historically received little attention, despite their significant economic impact. These effects are well-documented in global studies, but Southeast Asia’s urban centers represent a unique case where the combined cost of time poverty and traffic congestion has created an environment where workplaces are actually undermining employee efficiency from the very start of the day.
Southeast Asia’s Silent Crisis
While much attention is paid to global economic trends in Western cities or China, Southeast Asia remains underrepresented in discussions about productivity constraints. The emerging markets of Southeast Asia, from the Philippines to Indonesia, are experiencing the effects of long commutes firsthand. Yet, the narrative still focuses primarily on the frustration of waiting in traffic, without considering the far-reaching economic consequences of these lost hours.
The global oil crisis has exacerbated this issue, with fuel prices rising due to the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. Rising transportation costs in Southeast Asia are pushing workers even further into this cycle of time poverty. More than ever, commuting inefficiency is undermining labor market growth, making it harder for workers to contribute their full potential to their jobs. With labor already stretched thin, time poverty emerges as an obstacle to the region’s economic goals, slowing down innovation, and hindering productivity.
How to Tackle Time Poverty and Unlock Productivity
So, what can be done to solve this? The answer isn’t as simple as fixing traffic. The Commuter Economy requires a holistic rethinking of work itself. In fact, businesses and governments need to restructure their approach to productivity by addressing the root cause of time poverty: commuting.
To truly tackle time poverty and unlock productivity in Southeast Asia, we must focus on solutions that are practical and can be implemented at scale. One of the most feasible options is expanding transit-oriented development which will create communities that are well-connected to public transport hubs, making commuting easier and less time-consuming. This, combined with mobility as a service platforms, could make commuting more efficient by integrating multiple transport modes into one app. Congestion pricing could also be explored in high-traffic cities, where charging drivers to enter congested zones could encourage the use of public transport and reduce traffic volume during peak hours. Additionally, community workspaces or digital work hubs in suburban areas would allow employees to work closer to home, reducing long commutes and offering more flexibility. While some of these solutions are already being tested in a few cities, they remain far from fully implemented across the region. For instance, Jakarta’s previous “3-in-1” rule, which encouraged carpooling by restricting single-occupancy vehicles during rush hours, helped manage traffic flow but was eventually replaced with other initiatives like odd-even plate restrictions. Manila has also expanded bike lanes to encourage alternative commuting, showing how cities are experimenting with different solutions to improve mobility.
A Call for Change
The time has come for Southeast Asia to rethink how we view commuting.The issue goes beyond the frustration of traffic; it’s the economic cost of all that lost time. If Southeast Asia’s leaders are serious about achieving their economic goals, they must stop treating long commutes as a nuisance and start addressing them as a serious economic barrier. Without a shift in policy and mindset, the region will continue to lose valuable labor hours that could otherwise fuel its economic ascent.
The region’s rapid growth and potential should not be held hostage by its outdated transportation systems. Southeast Asia’s leaders need to recognize that commuting inefficiency is a serious productivity issue in the workplace, as the region’s economic future depends on addressing it.
***
Columnist Bio
Nicasio A. Pimentel III is a UK-certified human resources practitioner and educator with over 16 years of experience spanning HR strategy, analytics, systems integration and talent management across several Fortune Global 500 companies and public sector institutions in the UK, Australia , the Middle East and the Philippines. He holds an MSc in Management and Human Resources from the London School of Economics and Political Science and teaches at the University of Antique in the Philippines./PN
