Mandaue eyes longer truck ban timeframe

CEBU, Philippines – The Mandaue City government is looking at extending truck ban hours soon in an attempt to ease vehicular traffic.

The new truck ban schedule will soon be from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. or two hours longer than what is presently being implemented in the city.

Planning and development coordinator Florentino Nimor explained the need to extend the ban hours, saying based on their observation, Mandaue traffic is still heavy even after the supposed rush hours: 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The decision to extend truck ban hours stemmed from a measure approved by the City Council in August last year, amending Ordinance No. 12-2012-777 to ban all trucks weighing 4.5 tons (4,500 kilograms) and above to ply the city roads and to expand the ban’s timeframe.

Nimor estimates 330,000 vehicles passing through Mandaue City every day. He said about one-fourth of this traffic is trucks.

If these trucks are banned during rush hours, they see a much lighter traffic in the streets, he said.

Nimor, however, expects the policy to be opposed by truck operators.

Even then, he said the new regulation already reportedly earned the nod of officials from the Mandaue City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He also said they are set to talk with other truck operators outside Mandaue to inform them of the new schedule.

Nimor said under the ordinance, the violator will be slapped with a P1,000 fine on the first offense.

Once they have finalized all aspects of the new policy, they will then announce the exact day in which it will be implemented, he concluded. (FREEMAN)