By Myris Lee
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Romando Artes said they have no plan yet to implement the proposed expanded number coding scheme due to the reduced private and public vehicles volume amid continuous oil price hikes.
Artes said a recent vehicle count along EDSA on June 9 showed that the number of motorists declined to 392,000, down from the 417,000 on May 5 which surpassed the pre-pandemic count of 405,000.
“Sa ngayon po wala tayong plano na magpatupad ng expanded number coding scheme dahil nakikita po namin na wala naman pong pangangailangan sa ngayon dahil po patuloy na nababawasan ang bilang ng mga sasakyan sa ating lansangan at moderate pa lang naman po yung traffic,” he said in June 21’s Laging Handa briefing.
“Ang tingin po namin na malaking factor diyan ay yung patuloy na pagtaas ng produktong petrolyo,” he added.
The MMDA proposed two kinds of the number coding scheme last March, including a 50% volume reduction plan and a 40% volume reduction plan that will ban vehicles based on their license plates during rush hours for two days in a week.
The MMDA said they will leave the decision of the implementation of their proposal to the next administration.
“Siguro po ay iiwan na po natin ‘yan sa susunod na administrasyon na mag-decided kung kailan kailangan i-expand yung number coding scheme,” Artes said. – ag
