MANILA, Philippines ? If traffic conditions on Edsa look unusually smooth lately, it?s because the ?colorum? buses appear to be on their way out.

On Monday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) started cracking down on buses without proper franchises as it prepared to launch a fully automated system of dispatching buses in the metropolis.

Around 140 colorum buses have been impounded so far, the agency said after clearing operations conducted at three points on Edsa: Balintawak, White Plains and in front of the VV Soliven building.

MMDA men spray-painted the impounded vehicles with the words ?colorum? or ?out-of-line? for operating without a franchise or outside their routes.

The crackdown is part of the last stages of the agency?s Organized Bus Route System, which would use surveillance cameras and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando said the clearing operations would likely last another two weeks before the system becomes fully operational, with only buses bearing RFID tags allowed to cruise on major roads.

Commuters may find themselves pleasantly surprised at how smoother Edsa traffic has become, Fernando, who is in the United States, told the Inquirer by phone Tuesday.

Tuesday?s traffic, for instance, moved faster than during a typical workday, according to the MMDA Metrobase.

The OBR System was first implemented in 2003 to reduce the number of buses plying Edsa to prevent heavy traffic.

Using the ?first on, first off? basis, buses would line up at MMDA-established terminals where they would wait for their turn to be sent to their destinations.

Fernando said the system would ensure the controlled and unified dispatch of some 3,000 buses plying 25 routes at both ends of Metro Manila.

Under the scheme, RFID tags would be used to identify legitimate from colorum buses.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines filed a complaint before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board office in Quezon City against the MMDA for spray-painting some of their buses.

?Buses are used to transport people. Spray-painting buses is not only an attack on private property but is a senseless, uncivil attack on public utilities,? PBOAP member-companies said in a statement.

The respondents in their complaint for malicious mischief, damage to property and unconstitutionality were Fernando, Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group chief Bobby Esquivel and General Manager Robert Nacianceno. With Riza T. Olchondra