Beyond the daily commute: Lived experiences of college students in commuting along the Ungka flyover in Iloilo

Abstract

For college students, it is crucial to have an environment that enables them to meet their academic success and overall well-being. Students are known for their fortitude to persevere through hardships no matter how much effort and courage it takes. This is more particularly true for those who had to travel to the university, attend classes and achieve their goal for productivity on a daily basis. Accordingly, the Ungka Flyover project was intended to help students get to school on time and offer them a glimmer of optimism. The main objective of this research was to study how college students at Central Philippine University’s actual commuting experiences along the Ungka Flyover changed the trajectory of their lives and their academic performance. The participants were (5) college students at Central Philippine University commuting along Ungka Flyover. Using the phenomenological approach to analyze their lived experiences, the data was examined and interpreted through the lens of the Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).The research results suggest that traffic congestion on the Ungka Flyover impacts student life, well-being and their academic performance negatively as they suffered from lack of sleep and fatigue, difficulty concentrating on studies, mental and physical health, unpredictable commutes disrupt sleep patterns, chronic stress and anxieties, mental health issues and a weakened immune system. It is recommended that future researches must have a wider range of CPU students, particularly those from different locations and programs in order to have a more comprehensive picture of commuting challenges as well as jeepney drivers, traffic enforcers, and local government officials to have more insights into the causes and potential solutions to traffic problems. Lastly, future studies must be conducted to explore proposed solutions to traffic congestion in Pavia and Iloilo City in view of improving the public transportation systems in Iloilo City.