Metro Manila mayors OK ban on single-rider cars along EDSA

THE METRO Manila Council (MMC), composed of the mayors within the National Capital Region, approved yesterday a scheme that will ban private cars with just the driver along EDSA during peak hours.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), in a statement, said the “high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes” was given the green light by the MMC, and draft guidelines will now be prepared by the agency.
Under the measure, only vehicles with two or more passengers would be allowed to traverse EDSA.
The MMDA proposed the HOV lanes last year to maximize the movement of people rather than vehicles by giving them exclusive lanes along EDSA.
The MMC, which is the governing and policy-making body of the MMDA, sought a more thorough review of the proposal.
“We have a data that 70% of vehicles along EDSA carry only the driver,” said MMDA General Manager Jose Arturo S. Garcia, Jr.
Mr. Garcia said after the guidelines are approved, a dry run will be scheduled before the full implementation.
“We hope to encourage carpooling with the HOV scheme,” he said.
BUS TERMINALS
Meanwhile, the MMC also approved during yesterday’s meeting the policy that would regulate the entry of provincial buses on EDSA.
Mr. Garcia, however, said “they are still contemplating whether to push for the policy’s implementation on August 15” as some facilities and infrastructure at the Valenzuela Interim Terminal still need to be fixed.
“We are not in a hurry to implement the policy as we want to make sure everything is in order,” Mr. Garcia said.
Under the plan, select provincial buses coming from the north will be required to end their route at the Valenzuela Interim Terminal, while those coming from the south will make a final stop at the South Interim Provincial Terminal.
The MMC also approved the increase in exemption fee for the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program to 1,000 from P300.