IN LINE with the program to solve the worsening traffic situation in the metropolis, the Metro Manila Development Authority on Friday announced partnership with Waze through its Connected Citizens Program, a two-way data exchange program with governments worldwide.
MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos said the agency would be sharing with Waze data on traffic-congested areas, road accidents, floods, and road closures so the public would be given the best possible route real-time.
“They can now better decide on what roads to traverse to get to their destination, as they can avoid areas that are heavily congested,” said Orbos.
MMDA assistant general manager for operations Julia Nebrija seconded Orbos, saying the move was a win-win partnership which would benefit both the private motorists and the commuters.
“MMDA’s data will contribute to better routes and Waze data will give MMDA wider incident coverage and public outreach, which we can study to improve our traffic management today and in the long-term,” she said.
MMDA is the first Philippine government agency to partner with Waze.
Waze, a community based traffic and navigation mobile application, ranked the Philippines No. 2 in the list of countries with worst traffic situation in 2015.
Based on the app’s Global Driver Satisfaction Index, Philippines with a 3.9 rating is following Costa Rica (4.5) who ranked No. 1 in the list of countries that offer the worst driving experiences in the world.
Panama came in third with a 3.8 rating followed by Indonesia, Romania and Ecuador, all with 3.7 rating; Columbia (3.3), Venezuela (3.3), Guatemala (3.0) and El Salvador (2.1).
Meanwhile, the MMDA reminded the public about the traffic regulations the Inter-agency Council on Traffic (I-ACT) will be implementing beginning next week to reduce the expected traffic congestion during the holiday season.
These are:
– Moratorium on all excavations or diggings on all national and city roads starting midnight of Nov. 1 up to midnight of Jan. 9, 2017;
– Ban on weekday mall sales starting Nov. 1 up to Jan. 9, 2017. Further, shopping malls shall adjust their operating hours from 11am to 11pm during the same period.
– Mall deliveries during nighttime only from 11pm to 5am only, from Nov. 1 to Jan. 9, 2017. Deliveries of perishable goods such as food and ice cream are exempted from this.
– Expanded Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program or number coding scheme and “No Window Hours” starting Nov. 2.
“These traffic-alleviating measures are intended to facilitate the free flow of motorists and Christmas shoppers even before December,” said Orbos.
The early implementation of these measures would offset the usual 20-percent increase in traffic volume every Christmas season because of the influx of people and vehicles from nearby provinces such as Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, and Central Luzon.
Two months since I-ACT was formed as a single authority in traffic management in the metropolis, Metro Manila mayors and traffic managers from various local government units have expressed support and optimism in the direction taken to solve the traffic problem.
In a workshop in Camp Crame on Wednesday, LGU traffic managers joined officials and personnel from the Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board, MMDA, and Police-Highway Patrol Group in drafting guidelines to ensure smooth implementation of a unified ticketing system.
This came after the local chief executives agreed to pass uniform ordinances on traffic violation fines and penalties.
The move is consistent with the I-ACT’s vision to harmonize traffic laws and ordinances and integrate a single enforcement system under one chain of command.
Apart from strict enforcement along national roads, the I-ACT also intensified its campaign against illegally-parked and colorum vehicles.
From July 6 to Oct. 26, 2016, the team impounded 236 colorum vehicles, towed 5,696 illegally-parked vehicles, and cleared 2,330 sidewalk vendors. The council also issued 25, 635 traffic violation tickets.
LGUs have also expressed their desire to align their traffic rules with the I-ACT, such as implementing the suspension of window hours in their cities and areas of jurisdiction.
