Tried and tossed schemes to tame a Metro monster

AT LEAST seven traffic schemes have been tried to solve Metro Manila’s road congestion over the last 25 years.

The Odd-Even scheme for vehicles was first implemented in December 1990 under then Transportation Secretary Oscar Orbos. Under the program, private cars with license plates ending in odd numbers are barred from the streets between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; while those ending in even numbers are banned during the two-hour period on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

The population of Metro Manila at the time was 7.9 million, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. The total number of registered vehicles in capital was around 684,700.

In a speech on Thursday, President Aquino cited the odd-even scheme—launched during the presidency of his mother Cory Aquino—as the “most radical” traffic solution he would consider today. But he conceded that it would surely draw complaints especially from private vehicle owners.

In October 1995, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) launched the color-coding scheme. Public utility vehicles (PUVs) were barred once a week from plying their routes between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m., Monday to Friday. Private vehicles were barred from operating in the entire metropolis during rush hours, from 7 a.m to 9 a.m., and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. A colored sticker is assigned to a vehicle based on the last number of the license plate. Plate numbers ending in 1 and 2 were banned every Monday (yellow stickers), 3 and 4 on Tuesdays (blue), 5 and 6 every Wednesday (green), 7 and 9 every Thursday (red), and 9 and 0 every Friday (orange).

But a series of transport strikes and legal challenges stopped the implementation after only a month.

Metro Manila’s population then stood at 9.5 million in 1995, while registered vehicles numbered more than 1.05 million.

In April 1996, the Modified Odd-Even Scheme was enforced by the Philippine National Police-Traffic Management Command on Edsa to ease traffic jams caused by the partial closure and repair of Guadalupe Bridge. Private vehicles were barred on Edsa from

7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and PUVs were barred 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. once a week, depending on their plate numbers.

In June 1996, the MMDA adopted the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP). The scheme—which bans both private and public utility vehicles from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on all streets of Metro Manila depending on their plate end-numbers—was initially implemented on a voluntary basis. Vehicles with plates ending in 1 and 2 are banned on Mondays; 3 and 4 on Tuesdays; 5 and 6 on Wednesdays; 7 and 8 on Thursdays, and 9 and 0 on Fridays. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are not covered by the scheme.

In July 1997, the government reintroduced the modified odd-even scheme. Private vehicles with license plates ending in odd numbers were banned from all roads on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Vehicles with license plates ending in even numbers were banned on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The scheme’s three-day-a-week ban on private vehicles sparked protests.

In 1998, a modified UVVRP was again implemented. This time, private car owners were barred from using their vehicles for one day depending on their license plates and for half a day under a Saturday car ban. The Saturday ban lasted until 2000.

In December 1999, the MRT 3, the elevated railway on Edsa, began partial operations.

The modified UVVRP or number coding scheme is still in implementation today. Private and public vehicles are barred from the streets 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. depending on the last digit of their plate numbers. It’s not in force during weekends and public holidays and during window hours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., except in Makati City and Las Piñas.

The capital’s population stood at 11.85 million based on the last census conducted in 2010. Registered vehicles totaled 2.1 million as of 2013.

Source: Inquirer Archives, MMDA