With the month of March finally here and after seeing the downward trend of COVID-19 cases, it was just a matter of time before we would finally be hitting Alert Level 1, which is the closest we’ve ever gotten to normal ever since the pandemic hit us two years ago.

Aside from being able to go to more places and do more activities easily, a lot of workers are now being expected to return to their offices.

So, it’s inevitable that traffic will return to pre-pandemic levels, accompanied by a rise in public transportation ridership. That means those days of sub-one-hour intercity travel are coming to an end, and plenty of motorists should prepare a whole lot of patience to brave the hours they’ll spend stuck in traffic.

As I was going around on my bike, it was noticeable that many people still utilize personal transportation, like bicycles and electric kick scooters to get to their workplaces. Aside from being an effective way of exercise and cutting down on vehicular traffic, it just seems like the logical thing to do with today’s skyrocketing gas prices.

Here are some photos that show what the first day of Alert Level 1 was like in some parts of Metro Manila. How was your experience like during the first day?