Traffic builds up along Edsa in Quezon City on Oct. 28, 2022. ABS-CBN News/Jire Carreon, file

The planned dry run of the odd-even scheme on EDSA starting June 16 will last one month, instead of a week, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Tuesday.

MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said this is to give motorists more time to familiarize themselves with the new system amid the confusion on what coding scheme to follow, and possible alternate routes.

He clarified that the odd-even scheme on EDSA will replace the regular coding scheme during the rebuilding.

“Yun pong existing na number coding scheme ngayon, maaalis na po yan insofar as EDSA is concerned, at papalitan na po yan ng odd-even scheme,” he said.

(The current number coding scheme will be removed, at least as far as EDSA is concerned, and it will be replaced by an odd-even scheme.)

The MMDA said the following vehicles were exempted from the traffic scheme.

• - TNVS (four-wheeled ride-hailing services)
• - Public Utility Vehicles (city buses, taxi, jeepneys)
• - Motorsiklo (both private and those used as motorcycle taxis)
• - Electric and hybrid vehicles
• - Emergency vehicles (ambulances, fire trucks, police mobile units)
• - Authorized marked government vehicles used for essential services

“Hindi naman totally ibinan lang yung mga sasakyan. ‘Yung tawid po ng EDSA ay pwede, ia-allow natin. Bawal lang bumaybay,” added Artes.

(We are not totally banning private vehicles. Those who will just be crossing EDSA via an intersection will be allowed. Only those who will traverse the stretch of EDSA will be flagged.)

According to Artes, the MMDA is coordinating with ride-hailing firms and transport regulators to be able to come up with a list of exempted TNVS.

“Pwede naming i-encode sa aming system na, kung sakali ma-capture sila ng CCTV, ay hindi po sila matiticketan,” he said.

'CONFUSING'

But transportation engineer Rene Santiago said the new traffic rules would still be confusing for motorists, especially since other roads outside of EDSA will stick to the regular coding scheme.

Santiago said that to minimize disruption, the odd-even scheme should only be implemented in sections where construction will already commence.

“Iba pa yung number coding ng Makati sa Metro Manila, so you have three systems in place that will get you confused… Kung uunahing ire-repair yung southern part, from Guadalupe to Roxas Boulevard or Macapagal Avenue, yung part ng Quezon City, San Juan at Muntinlupa— bakit ka mag-number coding doon? At that point, hindi (sila) affected,” argued Santiago.

(Makati's number coding is even different from that of Metro Manila, so you have three systems in place, which can be confusing. If the repair will start in the southern part, from Guadalupe to Roxas Boulevard or Macapagal Avenue, then areas like Quezon City, San Juan, and Muntinlupa—why would you implement number coding there? At that point, they wouldn’t be affected.)

Another mobility group criticized number coding in general, saying it is ineffective and would lead to even more traffic congestion eventually.

“Self-defeating yung mga number coding scheme because it motivates yung purchase of a second vehicle or third vehicle. Dadami ng dadami yung population ng motor vehicles. This what we have seen time and again,” said Move as One Coalition Co-convenor Robert Siy in an interview on Teleradyo Serbisyo.

But the government reiterated that alternate routes will be available for motorists who will be displaced from EDSA, such as the Mabuhay Lanes, which the MMDA is constantly operating on to clear all obstructions, particularly illegally parked vehicles.

“Yung ibang tao sinasabi dito, sir, mamaya pag-alis niyo babalik na po yan. Wag po kayong mag-alala, babalik-balikan natin yan… Hindi lang naman po tayo isang grupo na nag-ooperate. That’s what we want to add, yung collaboration with the local traffic enforcement unit,” said Gabriel Go, the head of MMDA’s Special Operations Group Strike Force.

(Some people are saying, sir, once you leave, things will go back to the way they were. Don’t worry—we’ll keep coming back to check on obstructions. We’re not the only group doing clearing operations. That’s what we want, the collaborating with the local traffic enforcement units.)

Meanwhile, motorists may also use the privately-operated Skyway Stage 3, which the Department of Transportation said has agreed to waive toll collection in some sections.

HIGHER MRT-3 CAPACITY

But according to Santiago, the best way to manage vehicular traffic along EDSA is by ramping up mass transportation, specifically the MRT-3.

“Patakbuhin mo yung Dalian… Pwede kang umabot sa 28 na four-car (trains), a 66 percent increase in capacity na talagang matagal nang kailangan ng MRT-3,” he said, referring to the China-made trains procured by the government back in 2014 but have been gathering dust ever since due to supposed incompatibility issues.

While DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon has said that more carriages will be deployed to serve the expected influx in commuters during the EDSA reconstruction, he admitted in a senate hearing that the Dalian trains have still not been cleared for public use.

“Pinipilit ko nga po na sana magamit na natin finally itong mga Dalian trains na ito. Ang problema po yung ating maintenance operator, yung Sumitomo of Japan, hindi pa po siya kampante as of now na gamitin yun for safety reasons. Marami pa po silang ginagawang pag-aayos at pagtetest. Pero pinapamadali ko po yan, he explained.

(I have been pushing for that so we can finally make use of those Dalian trains. The problem is that our maintenance operator, Sumitomo of Japan, is still not confident in deploying them right now due to safety reasons. They are still doing a lot of adjustments and testing. But I'm having that sped up.)