Getting around Manila: public transport, passes and taxis

Manila is a car city with a rail spine. Match the mode to the corridor: rail for EDSA and Taft, Grab for everything else, jeepney for short local hops, and your feet only inside a district.

Fares below are 2026 estimates in pesos. Traffic, not distance, sets the time.

Three lines do the heavy lifting. LRT-1 runs along Taft Avenue from Baclaran through EDSA and on to Monumento in the north. MRT-3 follows EDSA from Taft to North Avenue, linking Makati's edge, Ortigas, Cubao and Quezon City. LRT-2 crosses east from Recto to the Antipolo side, useful for Quiapo, Legarda and Cubao connections.

The lines are separate systems, so a trip that crosses them means buying a second ticket and often walking a connecting bridge. Queues at Taft and Cubao are long at peak hours, and trains are packed; keep bags in front of you and expect security checks at the gate.

Trains run from early morning to late evening, but the last departures leave earlier than most visitors expect. Check the day's schedule before you rely on a late ride.

Jeepneys are the cheapest way to move and the most local. Routes are painted on the side, fares are paid to the driver or a conductor, and change is often short — carry small notes. They stop anywhere along the route, which is convenient but slow in traffic.

City buses run the big corridors: EDSA, Taft, Quezon Avenue, España. Ordinary buses are cheap, air-conditioned ones cost more, and both can sit still for long stretches at rush hour. Point-to-point (P2P) buses are the exception: fixed routes, fixed seats, no stops, and a much better bet for airport runs and Makati–BGC hops.

Metered taxis still exist and are fine when the meter is running. Agree on the meter before you get in, or take the next car. At the airport and outside malls, touts will offer a flat rate; it is usually two to three times the metered fare.

Not one that covers everything. Each rail line issues its own ticket, and the stored-value Beep card has been rolled out line by line rather than across the whole network, so a card bought on one line may not work on another.

For visitors, the practical answer is to pay per trip. If you are staying a week and using the rail daily, a stored-value card saves queueing time at the window; ask at the station which lines accept it that week. Grab needs no card at all — the app charges your saved payment method.

P2P buses sell seats per departure, not per day. Book at the terminal or online where the operator offers it.

A sightseeing day that mixes rail and Grab lands around ₱400–800 per person. A day of jeepneys and walking can stay under ₱150. Airport transfers are the outlier: ₱300–800 by Grab or metered taxi to Makati or Ermita, more in rain or at 18:00 (2026 estimates).

Traffic is the whole game. Leave before 07:00 or after 20:00 for anything long, and treat a 10 km trip as a 45-minute commitment in daylight. Apps give live estimates; believe them over any fixed schedule.

Keep a small stack of ₱20, ₱50 and ₱100 notes. Drivers and conductors rarely have change for large bills, and e-wallets such as GCash are widely accepted in malls and by Grab but not by jeepneys.

Security checks at malls, stations and hotels mean bag openings; keep your bag organised so you are not repacking in a queue. Keep phones out of sight near jeepney terminals and crowded stations.