MMDA mulls anew traffic plan on vehicle occupancy limit

THE possible implementation of the High Occupancy Vehicle Traffic Scheme could help reduce traffic in Metro Manila, an official of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) pitched anew in an interview Sunday.

“Then when the new MMC [Metro Manila Council] comes, they might be proposing again yung HOV [High Occupancy Vehicle Traffic Scheme], ‘yung bawal ka sa EDSA kapag mag-isa ka lang (You cannot drive alone on EDSA),” said MMDA EDSA Special Traffic and Transport Zone chief Edison Nebrija.

He added, “Then ‘yung mga (the) infrastructures, kung makakikita every weekend may ginagawa ang DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] sa EDSA (If you will notice, DPWH is working along EDSA every weekend). So ‘yung clearing namin sa alternate routes, para kapag pino-propose namin yung HOV again, cleared ‘yung mga alternate routes (Our clearing operations on alternate routes are meant for the possible reimplementation of the HOV scheme). This is just part of the bigger plan.”

“I just hope that everybody will be onboard, hindi na tayo pwedeng kontra nang kontra (We should not be against this anymore). The future starts now and we should brace ourselves for these changes,” Mr. Nebrija also said.

MMDA also drew flak for its provincial bus ban along EDSA and its plan of setting up point-to-point buses instead.

For his part, Mr. Nebrija defended these plans as part of a “bigger plan” to reduce travel time around the metropolis. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras