Push Admin

Number-coding window nixing won't ease traffic woes–analyst

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wqk4ilYW8FI?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe></figure>MANILA – The scrapping of window hours in the number coding scheme for vehicles will not solve traffic woes in the metro, a traffic expert said.&quot;The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) might see a 20 percent reduction, but then, people will adapt. They will get new cars because they have to go to work [or] transport their goods,&quot; road safety advocate Mike Potenciano said.Starting October 25, there will no longer be a 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. window allowing all private and public vehicles to travel via roads affected by the number-coding scheme.The <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/05/16/tugade-committed-to-remove-number-coding-window-says-suarez">scrapping</a> of the window hours is a bid by the government to reduce the number of vehicles on the road by at least 20 percent.According to Potenciano, the government needs to improve the country&#x27;s mass transportation system to encourage motorists to leave their cars at home, as private vehicles are the <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/09/09/15/too-many-cars-palace-eyes-restrictions-private-vehicles-edsa">main contributors to road congestion</a>.&quot;Private vehicles are there because they provide a safe, convenient transport system,&quot; he said.Citing the importance of vehicles capable of transporting a large number of people, he also proposed the lifting of the number-coding scheme for public utility vehicles.It would also be a good idea, he said, to let double-decker buses ply C-5 Road, in addition to jeeps and taxis which currently serve as commuters&#x27; main means of transportation there.&quot;A more holistic plan&quot; backed by political will, and not the mere lifting of the number coding-window, is the key to solving the traffic crisis that has also slowed down economic activity in the capital, Potenciano said.

MANILA - The scrapping of window hours in the number coding scheme for vehicles will not solve traffic woes in the metro, a traffic expert said.

MANILA - The scrapping of window hours in the number coding scheme for vehicles will not solve traffic woes in the metro, a traffic expert said.