WITH VIDEOS | Odd-Even On EDSA; Free Toll On Skyway

A 24-hour odd-even coding scheme along EDSA will be enforced starting June 16 amid the upcoming two-year rehabilitation of Metro Manila’s busiest highway.

Portions of Skyway Stage 3, an alternate route for EDSA, will be toll-free in July.

License plates ending in odd numbers will be prohibited on EDSA on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Vehicles with plates ending in even numbers are banned on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said on Monday, May 26, the odd-even scheme will have a one-week dry run, during which violators will not be issued a ticket.

“We are expecting a 40-percent reduction of vehicles along EDSA,” Artes said.

Provincial buses and trucks delivering perishable goods and aviation fuel will be allowed on EDSA only from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Electric and hybrid electric vehicles as well as transport network vehicle services such as Grab, Angkas and JoyRide are exempted from the coding.

Bollards separating the exclusive bicycle lane may be removed by the MMDA amid proposals to turn it into a shared lane for cyclists and motorcycle riders.

An exclusive motorcycle lane will be designated and riders will be prohibited from flyovers and underpasses along EDSA.

Road-clearing efforts along Mabuhay lanes or alternate routes will be intensified by the MMDA to ensure that no vehicles are left parked and violators will be fined.

The P8.7-billion EDSA Rebuild project is set to begin on June 13.

Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said EDSA’s rehabilitation will prioritize the Pasay to Guadalupe section, starting at the exclusive bus lane and gradually shifting to outer lanes.

Commuters should expect 100 units of EDSA Carousel buses added by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), as well as more trains in the Metro Rail Transit Line 3.

The DOTr is hoping to convince private car owners to try commuting to reduce traffic volume on EDSA.

The Toll Regulatory Board, meanwhile, is exploring options to grant Skyway operator San Miguel Corp. (SMC) some reprieve to recover lost revenue, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said on Monday.

This could come in the form of an extension in SMC’s concession, although nothing is final right now, he noted.

EDSA repairs are expected to end in 2027.

NCAP

Enforcing the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) across Metro Manila should be fair, fast and transparent to alleviate concerns about program implementation, Senate President Francis Escudero said on Monday.

Negative reactions to the Supreme Court’s lifting of the temporary restraining order on NCAP were “not encouraging,” he noted.

Traffic violations caught on closed-circuit television will be reviewed and validated before notices of violations are issued.

The MMDA should listen to motorists’ sentiments about due process, Escudero said.

Delays in issuing notices of violations could be imminent, he lamented.

“It appears the entire process is slow and notices of violations would be sent via snail mail,” he said.

If delayed, penalties for non-payment of fines could accumulate, especially if the notices are lost in the mail, Escudero noted.

The MMDA, for its part, has assured motorists that apprehensions will be reviewed before notices are issued.

“Issuance of tickets is not automatic if our artificial intelligence camera captures (a violation),” Artes said.

Duplication of traffic violations will not occur as the system will automatically show that the violation has been captured by the CCTV upon encoding of physical apprehensions, he noted.

About 582 apprehensions using NCAP were recorded by the MMDA on Monday.

Most violators were disregarding traffic signs and flouting the EDSA busway policy. – With Neil Jayson Servallos