THE Skyway will soon be off-limits to all trucks save for those carrying essential commodities. INQUIRER PHOTO
STARTING on Nov. 15, all trucks will be banned from using Metro Manila’s Skyway in an effort to improve road safety and speed up the flow of traffic on the elevated toll road and the soon-to-open Naia Expressway.
Exempted from the ban are trucks carrying essential commodities but only if they meet safety requirements.
Skyway O&M (Somco)—the operator of the Skyway system—said that during a recent consultation with barangay officials, local police, highway patrol units, mall owners and other stakeholders, they agreed it was unsafe for trucks to use the elevated road since they pose potential risks to other motorists.
Their position was reinforced by two recent major accidents on the Skyway elevated section which involved delivery trucks of a beverage company, causing heavy traffic in the area.
“Together with Somco, we agreed to implement tighter restrictions as far as road safety is concerned,” said Senior Insp. Leopoldo M. Vitug Jr. who is responsible for the NCR-Skyway system. “The welfare of the motorists and passengers should always be our priority.”
Ban exemption
He added, however, that heavy vehicles carrying essential commodities would be exempted from the ban although their entry would be regulated to ensure that they meet the safety requirements to use the elevated road.
At the same time, Somco also pointed to long queues of buses, public utility vehicles (PUVs), UV Express vans and trucks at toll entry and exit points as being largely responsible for traffic buildup on the elevated and at-grade sections of the Skyway system.
To address this, PUVs and trucks will be required to use radio frequency identification (RFID) stickers for faster toll processing, based on the proposal of various stakeholders during the same traffic meeting, Somco said.
The RFID toll collection system—a cashless transaction already in place and used by mostly private vehicles—is meant to minimize long lines at toll plazas.
By reducing or totally eliminating the time drivers consume for collecting cards, preparing and paying toll, and counting change, RFIDs can help reduce vehicular congestion especially during peak hours, Somco said.
RFID stickers are given to motorists free of charge with no payment or fee required to install it on vehicles. Somco added that users only need to initially load P500 for class 1 vehicles and P1,000 for class 2 vehicles.
Faster traffic flow would benefit not only other motorists but also passengers of PUVs, their drivers and operators, as well as truck owners and their business clients.
Daily vehicle volume up
According to Somco, the daily average number of vehicles using the Skyway system has risen from 180,000 in 2015 to about 200,000 this year.
Somco also identified 128 “traffic conflicts” in the Bicutan interchange and 80 in Sucat, Parañaque, which it said it has started to resolve.
Other measures proposed at the meeting included the removal of illegal passenger jeepney terminals at SM Bicutan, and the transfer of PUV parking areas along the Sucat northbound entry to the Posadas area, on the east and west service roads.