Lawmaker thinks private cars should be banned on EDSA during rush hours

CALOOCAN second district Rep. Edgar Erice during the 2020 budget hearing of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Monday said EDSA should be a “mass transport highway” and only allow public utility vehicles during rush hours.

A report published Tuesday in the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted the lawmaker as saying private vehicles should not be banned on EDSA “from 6 to 9 a.m. [and[ from 6 to 9 p.m.”

The lawmaker said this will help decongest EDSA, especially that the volume of private vehicles which ply along the major road reaches up to 300,000 while buses are only about 8,000. The 300,000 private car owners who would be affected should the said scheme be implemented could either leave their houses before 6 a.m. or after 9 a.m., use routes or streets outside EDSA, or use public transport, Erice proposed, according to the Inquirer report.

This “immediate and temporary solution” could be in effect until the completion of construction works on North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway connector, the Metro Manila subway, and the rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, he added.

During the hearing, MMDA chairman Danilo Lim said that the agency will “seriously consider” the proposal and will bring it up with Metro Manila mayors during their upcoming Metro Manila Council meeting in October.