MANILA — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) supports the proposed High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane to decongest traffic along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).
The HOV lane will help decongest EDSA, save on transportation costs, and minimize pollution through reducing carbon emissions, LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada said.
“The essence of HOV is shared use of vehicles by persons with similar interests to decongest EDSA and contribute lesser carbon emissions. It is a very good plan. Enforcement lamang ang importante para ‘di maabuso ng mga colorum vehicles (Enforcement is very important so that this will not be abused by colorum vehicles),” Lizada said in a text message to reporters Thursday.
The scheme would enable passengers to share common expenses such as parking and toll fees, fuel costs, etc. “If drivers are charging other than these, they may be engaged in colorum operations,” Lizada said.
The HOV lane would also encourage carpooling among motorists, resulting in the improvement of the traffic situation in Metro Manila, she added.
In support of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) HOV lane plan and to avoid the proliferation of colorum vehicles once the scheme gets a go signal for implementation, the Board plans to issue IDs and stickers to transportation network services (TNVS) drivers who have franchises.
The LTFRB is also mulling the creation of a common pool number that would manage the allocation of the TNVS of ridesharing firms to address passenger demand. It is also considering extending the validity of the TNCs’ franchises from one year to three years.
The MMDA is set to conduct a one week dry run starting Monday to test the feasibility of the proposed scheme.
According to the agency, vehicles with at least two or more passengers inside may pass through the HOV Lane to be located at the fifth and leftmost lane along EDSA.
Motorcycle riders can also use the said lane aside from the motorcycle lane in the fourth lane. Private car drivers with no companion can still use the motorcycle lane (2nd) and third lane from the MRT.
Violators will be apprehended through no contact apprehension and pay a fine of PHP500 once this is fully implemented. (PNA)
