Carpooling + vehicle reduction eyed for Edsa — MMDA

Traffic crawls along Edsa in this file photo. —INQUIRER FILE / RICHARD A. REYES

The proposed two-day number coding scheme in Metro Manila and other traffic-alleviating proposals would still be subject to further study, the Metro Manila Council (MMC) said on Tuesday.

After the meeting of Metro Manila local chief executives, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Danilo Lim said they were considering three possible schemes: two-day number coding, carpooling and one-way Edsa.

Among the three, the carpooling program received the most “positive” and “promising” remark from Metro Manila mayors.

Lim said they were studying a “combined car-pooling and unified vehicle reduction system” for private vehicles.

“Combination ito ng carpooling and unified vehicle reduction program. May incentive sa private vehicles. Pag mag-isa ka lang, ‘di ka pwede sa Edsa. You have to use alternate routes. If dalawa kayo, including driver, subject to number coding pero pwede ka dumaan sa Edsa. Kung tatlo kayo sa sasakyan, exempted kayo from coding at pwede pa dumaan sa Edsa, anytime,” Lim said in a press conference.

The MMDA chief said they would immediately start studying the programs, but he assured the public that they will not implement it during the Christmas season.

“Ayaw ni Chair na trial and error lalo maguguluhan ang publiko kaya pagaaralan muna nang mabuti — scientifically,” said Jojo Garcia, MMDA assistant general manager for planning.

“Lahat ng mayors agree naman na sobra-sobra ang sasakyan kaya dapat bawasan habang ongoing yung ‘Build, Build, Build’ program ng gobyerno,” he added.

Garcia said they would still discuss the specifics of the program.

“Idi-discuss pa. Pero kapag tinted ang sasakyan subject sa inspection,” Garcia said when asked about how the agency would identify the number of passengers inside a private vehicle. /cbb