Mayors approve e-tagging for PUVs

Metro Manila mayors have given their approval for the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to implement the electronic tagging scheme for public utility vehicles (PUV), the latest measure aimed at imposing road discipline and easing the capital’s monster traffic jams.

In a recent Metro Manila Council meeting, all of the 17 mayors moved

for the evaluation and review of project’s feasibility as it would employ various tracking systems, according to MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino. The MMC is the policy-making body of the MMDA.

Among the methods being considered to keep track of the thousands of PUVs plying Metro Manila are the global positioning system and radio frequency identification (RFID) system, among others.

Since the electronic tagging was proposed by owners and operators of public utility buses, the project would be at no cost to the government, Tolentino explained in a statement.

The service provider, CyberDrive, indicated during a dry-run conducted last week that an e-tag would cost P480 each, he added.

Bus owners and operators have been vocal in favor of having a systematic tagging of vehicles since last year, when the MMDA ordered that markings be painted on the top of jeepneys, city buses and other regulated vehicles for easier monitoring.

With the approval now coming from the MMC, the MMDA’s policy-making body, Tolentino said he was optimistic that the system would be rolling out in the coming months.

The e-tagging system for PUVs was proposed by bus operators as an alternative to the paint tagging scheme.

Both measures are seen to address traffic problems along EDSA. A previous study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that EDSA can handle a maximum 1,600 buses a day. Some 3,500 buses ply the route daily.

The new scheme includes an electronic tag place in a registered bus. The

tag is linked with a computer database that contains identification records of the bus such as its Land Transportation Office and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board registrations.

When the bus enters the loading bay, a green light will show that it has been recognized by the system, which would then detect if the bus stayed longer than the allowed 25 seconds.

A report to the database will then allow authorities to issue a violation ticket and determine the identification of the violators. An electronic tag would cost P480 each according to service provider CyberDrive.

In August last year, the MMDA implemented the painted tagging scheme wherein the licensed plates of PUVs were painted prominently on their roofs for easy tracking and detection.

Under the MMDA resolution, the tag or mark should be painted horizontally on the front portion of the PUVs’ roof measuring 900mm by 1,200mm for PUBs/school and tourist buses and cargo trucks. The measurement of the tag for PUJs, FX/van-type taxis and sedan-type taxis must be 400mm by 900mm.

Tolentino said he hoped that the system could address the MMDA’s

perennial headache concerning “overstaying” buses in the loading bays. The e-tags, he said, could also be an effective deterrent against “trip-cutting” among bus drivers.—With a report from Inquirer Research