It was green on the maps, with no red lines in sight, as Election Day Monday surprised motorists and commuters who went on their way to voting centers across the metro.
Around 7:30 a.m., instead of slow-moving vehicles traversing España Boulevard, motorists were surprised to see that the westbound and eastbound lanes were free, allowing for a casual cruise to and from Quezon City.
While roads near voting centers were closed to public and private vehicles, there were only slowdowns in those areas instead of a complete traffic block.
Policemen, traffic enforcers, and Barangay police helped move the traffic along in dense areas. By 10 a.m., vehicles passing through E. Rodriguez Avenue, also going to Quezon City, passed by the route without traffic buildup.
Traffic-stricken Commonwealth Avenue was also free from the shackles of having multiple cars on the road for even just a day, as registered voters in the provinces went home.
By lunchtime and slowly moving into the afternoon and then the rain-drenched evening, the roads remained clear of heavy traffic.
Meanwhile, instead of allotting nearly an hour to commute, doctors under the residency program of a hospital in Quezon City enjoyed spacious train cars on LRT-1, LRT-2 and MRT-3 going to their destinations.
The hospital management allowed its medical professionals to line up and vote in their respective precincts before proceeding to the hospital to render healthcare to their patients.