INQUIRER.net poll: HPG on Edsa won’t solve traffic woes

THE deployment of the Philippine National Police’s Highway Patrol Group (HPG) on Edsa will not solve the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare, according to a majority of INQUIRER.net readers.

In an online poll conducted by INQUIRER.net, 41.43 percent of readers, or equivalent to 7,577 out of 18,289 respondents, said “there are simply too many vehicles on the road.”

READ: Mixed reviews for HPG traffic enforcers on Day 1

Meanwhile, 28.69 percent said or 5,248 respondents said only a working mass transport system can solve traffic jams on Edsa.

There were also those who said that the deployment of HPG in Edsa was a case of “too little, too late” for the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, amounting to 7.63 percent or 1,396 of the total votes.

Only 18.25 percent or 3,337 readers remained hopeful that HPG “will enforce traffic rules and ensure motorist discipline,” while four percent (731 votes) said the cops will solve traffic woes by unclogging Edsa’s main choke points.

In a bid to ease traffic congestion in the capital region, Aquino has tasked the HPG to man the traffic on Edsa, taking over the duties of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

Government agencies concerned in traffic management has drawn flak over the past days after thousands of motorists were left stranded on the road last Sept. 8, following torrential rains which triggered flash floods.

The Philippines also ranked 5th in a recent listing of countries with the worst traffic situation in the world according to an online crowd-sourcing survey site.

The worsening traffic situation in the metropolis is the subject of an ongoing Senate hearing. Yuji Vincent Gonzales

RELATED STORIES:

Traffic execs show up at Senate probe—finally

After ‘carmageddon,’ Palace admits lack of ample infrastructure

PH has 5th worst traffic in the world—survey

RELATED VIDEO