MMDA: ‘Number-coding’ back Monday

Back to the old scheme.

The Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or "number-coding" scheme will be reimplemented for all types of vehicles starting Monday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said yesterday,

MMDA Chairman Ba-yani Fernando said the old scheme will be implemented from March 3 to 7, covering all private and public utility vehicles (PUVs).

Fernando said the final decision on whether to make permanent the number coding scheme on all vehicles will be decided by Metro Manila mayors in a meeting on Friday.

Public utility buses used to be exempted from the UVVRP on the basis of a memorandum of agreement with the MMDA. But the MOA was revoked in a resolution passed recently by the Metro Manila Council (MMC), a body composed of all the 17 Metro Manila mayors and the chiefs of the vice mayors’ and councilors’ leagues.

The MMC decided to revoke the exemption after a study by the MMDA showed that passenger buses were a major cause of traffic along main thoroughfares.

The data gathered in the four-week experiment that started Feb. 3 will be presented to the mayors for their evaluation, Fernando said.

Based on the initial reports of the MMDA Traffic Operations Center, an improvement in the flow of traffic was reported during the third week of the experiment after PUVs were included in the scheme.

The experiment was supposed to run for another week but was preempted by an order from President Arroyo to stop all traffic experiments that included public utility buses.

The fourth week was supposed to implement the scheme on all types of vehicles as the last phase of the traffic experiments.

Fernando said more tests are forthcoming. "Yes we can do more experiments to come up with the data we need," he said.

The four-week traffic experiment drew the ire of commuters and motorists after the six-year scheme, more familiary known to motorists and commuters as "color-coding," was suspended last Feb. 3.

Fernando said the experiment was necessary to determine if there is a need for the scheme or its modification.

"At least now the people will understand why we are implementing such schemes because we have the gathered data as our basis," he said.

Fernando, however, refused to comment on the results of the traffic experiments, saying he and the mayors should wait until the Friday meeting.

But the MMDA chief hinted his earlier observation that buses are one of the main causes of traffic congestion along EDSA.

"Just two days after the experiment, among the first comment I got was from a driver who said it (the number-coding scheme) should continue because the resulting ease in traffic enables them to ply their route more with one mandatory day to tune up their vehicles," Fernando said.

During the four weeks of the implementation of the traffic experiment, Makati City did not participate, Mandaluyong backed out after a week while San Juan and Pasig expressed thier intentions to revert to the old scheme.

Makati and Mandaluyong passed their respective ordinances for a permanent number coding scheme within their city limits, citing the high volume of vehicles during the weekdays.

For his part, Makati City mayor Jejomar Binay argued that traffic cannot be gauged accurately using EDSA alone since the situation varies.

As this developed, Binay announced the lifting of traffic regulations in the central business district of the city on Sundays, starting on March 8.

Binay said he has already instructed traffic enforcers and the Makati Parking Authority to ease up apprehending traffic violators on Sundays noting that all offices in area are closed on weekends.

Binay said he decided to lift the regulations since there will be no impact on the traffic situation in the city.

He said appropriate notices will be placed to inform the motorists on the lifting of traffic regulations in the area.

Binay, however, clarified "the penalty-free" Sundays does not include violations on entering one-way streets. – With Jose Aravilla