Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Danilo Lim told a congressional hearing Tuesday that a two-day coding scheme would help address the heavy traffic in Metro Manila.
At a hearing conducted by the House on transportation, chaired by Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento, Lim said he will formalize his proposal for possible changes in the traffic reduction scheme formally known as the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program, whose concept was introduced in the late 1990s, and hopefully get the support of Metro Manila mayors.
Lim said the volume of vehicles plying the roads of Metro Manila “is really problematic.”
“We have more than 30 percent of the country’s vehicles all using the less than five percent of the national road network,” Lim said, noting that a total of 2.5 million to 2.6 million are registered vehicles in Metro Manila.
He said every Filipino must do their share by complying with a two-day coding to minimize the volume of cars in the metropolis.
Lim also stressed the need for the government to invest a lot in infrastructure programs to address the huge traffic problem in the country.
Lim acknowledged that the problem on lack of infrastructure projects such as better roads and highways has been aggravated by the increasing volume of vehicles, especially in Metro Manila.
Sarmiento echoed Lim’s assessment on the huge traffic problem in Metro Manila and megacities in the country.
Sarmiento also noted that while the huge traffic is plaguing the riding public, there seems to be very few traffic enforcers who have been manning the busy streets of Edsa and similar spots where they should have been detailed.
He also noted the return of colorum buses.