Number of vehicles passing along Edsa further drops to 390,000, MMDA says

MANILA, Philippines — The number of vehicles passing along Edsa has gone down even further to 390,000, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Tuesday.

According to MMDA chair Romando Artes, the figure is lower compared to the 417,000 vehicles traversing the thoroughfare in May.

“Nung May 5, nagpabilang po tayo ng sasakyan sa Edsa, ang lumabas po ay 417,000 which is above na po doon sa 405,000 na pre-pandemic level,” he said in a Laging Handa public briefing.

READ: Metro Manila vehicular volume may breach pre-pandemic level by June — MMDA

(Last May 5, we counted the vehicles in Edsa, which showed 417,000, which is above the 405,000 pre-pandemic level.)

“Pero nung June 9, nagpabilang po ulit tayo ng sasakyan. Ang lumabas po sa ating bilang sa Edsa ay 392,000 na lamang,” Artes noted.

(But on June 9, we had the vehicles counted again. Our count showed that there were only 392,000 vehicles in Edsa.)

“The other day, nagpabilang po tayo ulit. Ang lumabas po ay 390,000 na lamang. So, nabawasan pa po ng 2,000 or may kabuuan na pong kabawasan na 27,000 from the time na before elections,” he went on.

(The other day, we had it counted again. It showed 390,000 only. So, it further lessened by 2,000 or 27,000 from the time before the elections.)

Artes attributed the decreasing number of vehicles along Edsa to the continuous fuel price hikes.

READ: Negros PUV drivers set ‘holiday,’ eye other jobs to get by

“Tingin po namin na malaking factor diyan ay ‘yung patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng produktong petrolyo,” he said.

(We think that the most significant factor is the continued increase in the prices of petroleum products.)

Effective June 21, the cost of gasoline will increase by P0.80 per liter, diesel by P3.10 per liter, and kerosene by P1.70 per liter.

READ: Another round of fuel price hikes await motorists on Tuesday

je/abc