MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has proposed a new number coding scheme that will reduce the volume of vehicles on Edsa and other major Metro Manila roads by 40 percent.
During President Rodrigo Duterte’s public address on Monday night, MMDA chair Romando Artes suggested that private vehicles be banned between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. for two days on Edsa and other major thoroughfares.
According to Artes, the scheme would apply to vehicles with plate numbers ending in 1 and 2 on Mondays and Wednesdays; 3 and 4 on Mondays and Thursdays; 5 and 6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays; 7 and 8 on Tuesdays and Fridays; and 9 and 0 on Wednesdays and Fridays.
“This will reduce … the vehicles on our roads [by 40 percent], but this is only for private vehicles,” he told the President on Monday night.
Artes said that public utility vehicles like buses, jeepneys, taxis and transport network vehicle services would be excluded from the new number coding scheme.
With the implementation of the MMDA proposal, the southbound lane of Edsa would experience “moderate flow” of vehicles from the current moderate to heavy while traffic flow on the northbound lane would improve from moderate to light to moderate, he added.
In 2018, the Japan International Cooperation Agency said the worsening traffic in Metro Manila was costing the country P3.5 billion in lost opportunities daily.
Artes said the proposed new number coding scheme had already been submitted to the Metro Manila Council, which was expected to approve it after Holy Week.
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