Brace for massive gridlocks on All Saints’ Day, Christmas

Traffic and transportation officials were reminded on Friday to prepare contingency plans for massive gridlocks expected during the All Saints’ Day and Christmas holidays.

The chair of the House transportation committee wrote the heads of 16 government agencies, including Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair Danilo Lim, to call their attention to the approaching holiday rush.

“The undersigned respectfully reminds your office to effectively implement your commitments involving the implementation of the various transportation plans and programs as discussed in the committee meeting,” wrote Samar Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento.

Sarmiento reminded the 16 agency heads of the commitment they made to the panel on Oct. 2 that they would be prepared for the influx of passengers traveling out of Metro Manila to the provinces.

Centralized dispatch system

Metro Manila traffic is expected to get even worse after the All Saints’ Day break because it also marks the beginning of the Christmas rush.

He said this should prompt traffic and transportation authorities to finalize the role of city buses in an information technology-based route rationalization plan.

This is to expedite the implementation of the centralized and synchronized dispatch system that will be more efficient and predictable, Sarmiento said.

Sarmiento said there were some 200 different companies operating 3,000 to 4,000 city buses which need to agree to be consolidated as part of the new dispatch system.