MANILA — In an effort to encourage carpooling among motorists, the Metro Manila Council (MMC) has approved the implementation of high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOVLs) on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) during rush hours.
Under the traffic policy, vehicles with two or more passengers will be able to pass through EDSA using the HOVLs.
“Ang gagawin namin two or more lanes sa buong EDSA during rush hours for the HOVL (We will be utilizing two or more lanes in the entire EDSA during rush hours for the HOVL),” MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia said in a media interview on the sidelines of the regular meeting of the MMC on Tuesday in Mandaluyong City.
“Binigyan kami ng authority ng MMC na anytime pwede kami gumawa ng dry-run (We were authorized by the MMC to conduct a dry run anytime),” Garcia said.
The MMDA has proposed the HOVL last year to reduce vehicular volume on EDSA.
Vehicles with at least two or more passengers were allowed to pass through EDSA using the fifth and leftmost lanes.
A dry-run was conducted December last year to test the feasibility of the scheme.
The MMDA eventually decided to cancel the implementation of the HOVL as its traffic enforcers were having difficulty inspecting heavily-tinted vehicles. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
