THE government will today start enforcing a ban on the daytime delivery of goods to the shopping malls and commercial centers in Metro Manila to ease traffic as the Christmas season draws near.
“The mall owners agreed to deliver the goods at nighttime from 11 p.m. up to 5 a.m. the next day,” said MMDA Acting Chairman Thomas Orbos.
His agency is a member of the Inter-agency Council on Traffic, the group managing and controlling traffic in the National Capital Region.
Orbos said the ban will be implemented until Jan. 9 next year, but the trucks delivering perishable items like ice cream are exempted.
The government claims that delivery trucks and container vans worsen the traffic in Metro Manila during the last quarter of the year as the Christmas season draws near.
Orbos says the mall operators in Metro Manila have also agreed to submit their traffic management plan, which includes the deployment of their own traffic personnel and to coordinate with traffic officials the management of the vehicles going to and from the shopping centers.
“This show of support from the private sector will definitely help the government solve the traffic problem in Metro Manila,” Orbos said.
MMDA records show that the volume of traffic rises by 15 to 20 percent between November and December. They also show that the “midnight sales” or extended mall business hours contribute to the traffic gridlock in the metropolis during the Christmas season.