AN LTO ENFORCER flags down a pickup without a license plate on Edsa in Cubao, Quezon City, on the first day of the implementation of the agency’s “no plate, no travel” policy. Violators face up to P10,000 in fines on top of the impounding of their vehicles. LEO M. SABANGAN II
Starting Oct. 25, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is no longer allowing the so-called “window hours” under the number coding scheme, for motorists taking Edsa and C5 Road.
The window hours refer to the five-hour period—from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.—when motorists covered by the scheme on a particular day can still pass without being apprehended for a violation.
“[The public] may get angry at us but we have to do it… This is not a punishment,” said MMDA general manager Tim Orbos on Thursday as he appealed for a little more “sacrifice” to make Metro Manila’s daily traffic congestion more bearable.
Orbos spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a presentation made by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on its accomplishments during the first 100 days of the Duterte administration.
By removing the window hours, Orbos said, the current vehicular volume on the two major thoroughfares is expected to drop by as much as 20 percent. Depending on its results, the new policy may continue even after the holidays, he added.
Recent MMDA data showed that on Edsa alone, 7,500 vehicles pass per hour per direction, well beyond its carrying capacity of 6,000 vehicles.–Jovic Yee
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