Moves are under way to build at least four steel flyovers to ease traffic in Metro Manila particularly along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.
Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Emerson Carlos said the Department of Public Works and Highways has firmed up a plan to construct the Katipunan Bridge, a modular bridge which will cross two intersections along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.
“They will do it and they will start in Katipunan. The bridge will cross two intersections—Miriam and the Gate 3 of Ateneo de Manila,” said Carlos. “They should have start the bidding [for the project].”
Carlos’ predecessor Francis Tolentino, who came under fire last year over the worsening traffic problem in Metro Manila, made the proposal and asked the DPWH to consider building the flyovers in Santolan, P. Tuazon, Katipunan and Vito Cruz, all areas covered by the six major chokepoints on Edsa.
He said the flyovers, each spanning 400 meters, are made of steel similar to what Thailand built to solve the traffic problem in Bangkok.
Carlos said the government needs short-term and long-term solutions to solve the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
“We need to finish the infrastructure projects to cope with the number of vehicles and the population. Ang daming kotse ngayon. What we really need is to finish these projects,” he said.
“If you launch a long-term project you will suffer before its implementation so, we need a combination of a long- and a short-term solution,” the MMDA chief added.
Carlos said the increasing number of private vehicles remain the major cause of monstrous traffic along Edsa.
“The volume remains a problem. The actual capacity of Edsa is 6,000 vehicles one direction per hour but right now we have 6,800 vehicles. So, there is overcapacity,” he said.
This despite the metro-wide number coding scheme, or the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program, being imposed by the agency everyday, except during weekend and regular holidays.
Under the coding scheme, which aims to ease the volume of traffic on Metro Manila’s streets, vehicles are banned from major roads from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., depending on the last digit of their license plates.
The MMDA said that about 6,000 private cars are being sold every month.
Study showed that for a mega-city like Metro Manila, 25 percent of the total land area should be allotted for roads. Based on the MMDA’s records, only 5,000 kilometers of road network is in place instead of the ideal target of 8,000 kilometers.
Carlos said 90 percent of vehicles using Edsa are private. “Maybe, the solution is for the people to use public transport.”
Apart from the volume of vehicles, Carlos said road accidents also contributed to the traffic problem. He added an average of 40 vehicles figure in road accidents daily.
To encourage private motorists leave their cars at home, the government launched the Premium Point-to-Point (P2P) express bus service project.
The project was created by the Transportation Department that offers commuters another safe and reliable mode of transportation. It allows shorter travel time, as bus units depart on a fixed schedule and travel directly from the terminal to the drop-off point.
The government recently reduced fares for the Express Bus project to attract more passengers.
The bus fare from Trinoma and SM North-Edsa in Quezon City to Ayala Center in Makati City fall into P55 from its original rate of P64 while, the rate for persons with disabilities, students and senior citizens is P40.
The P2P also offers P10 discount from its standard rate to a group of five regular passengers, making it P45 per person.
Passengers coming from SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City to Ayala Center in Makati City will pay only P40, instead of P60; while P30 for PWDs, students and senior citizens and P35 each for a group of five.
The P2P, also known as the Edsa Non-Stop Bus, also offers a Weekend Unli (unlimited) promo wherein a passenger can avail of the service bus from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. the whole day for P100 only.
Each P2P express bus can accommodate 40 passengers and is available from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays.
The double-decker bus was also launched to improve vehicle movements along the congested Edsa.