After a three-day dry run, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) warned motorists that its traffic enforcers will start apprehending violators of the expanded Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or number coding scheme tomorrow, August 18.
The MMDA said that a total of 7, 405 motorists were given warning during the dry run of the number coding in the morning from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. The dry run started on Monday, August 15 and ended Wednesday, August 17.
From August 18 onwards, a fine of P300 will be meted to offending motorists.
On August 11, the Metro Manila Council (MMC), composed of the Metro Manila mayors, agreed in a meeting, through MMDA Resolution No. 22-14 Series of 2022, to revive the number coding scheme in the morning in preparation for the face-to-face classes on August 22.
The scheme will now be implemented from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Under the scheme, vehicles with license plates ending in 1 and 2 are prohibited on Monday, 3 and 4 on Tuesday, 5 and 6 on Wednesday, 7 and 8 on Thursday, 9 and 0 on Friday during the said coding hours.
MMDA acting chairman Carlo Dimayuga, earlier said that the reimplementation of the number coding scheme will reduce traffic volume by 20 percent during the morning and afternoon/evening peak hours.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the average number of vehicles plying Edsa daily was at 405,000.
Based on the latest vehicle volume count conducted by the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center on August 4, approximately 387,000 vehicles traversed Edsa.
The volume is expected to balloon to 436,000 or higher than pre-pandemic level.
Exempted from the UVVRP are public utility vehicles (including tricycles), transport network vehicle services, motorcycles, garbage trucks, fuel trucks, marked government vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances, marked media vehicles, and motor vehicles carrying essential and/or perishable goods.
Image credits: Bernard Testa