Headline
Fewer vehicles on Edsa as pump prices soar: MMDA
FILE: Commuters wait for public transport vehicles along Quezon Avenue in front of Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City on Monday (March 14, 2022). (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)
MANILA – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has reported a decrease in the number of vehicles traversing Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) this month, attributing it in part to the increase in pump prices.
In a Laging Handa briefing on Tuesday, MMDA chair Romando Artes said the number of vehicles that passed through Edsa on May 5 reached 417,000–above the pre-pandemic vehicular traffic of 405,000.
“Pero noong June 9 nagpabilang po ulit tayo ng sasakyan ang lumabas po sa ating bilang sa Edsa ay 392,000 (But on June 9, we had another vehicle count and it’s 392,000 vehicles on Edsa),” Artes said.
He said the latest vehicular count on Edsa was taken on Sunday and only reached 390,000.
“May kabuuan na pong kabawasan na 27,000 from the time na before elections at ang tingin po namin na malaking factor dyan ay ang patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng produktong petrolyo (There was a total deficit of 27,000 from before the elections and we think a big factor here is the continued rise in the prices of fuel),” he said.
With vehicular traffic remaining moderate, he said the current form of the unified vehicular volume reduction program (UVVRP)–also known as number coding–will not be changed.
“Sa ngayon po wala po 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 sasakyan sa ating lansangan (For now we don’t have any plans to enforce an expanded number coding scheme as it is unnecessary as the number of vehicles in our streets continues to drop),” Artes said.
If a new form of number coding will be enforced, he said it would most likely happen under the incoming administration.
E-bikes and e-scooters
With the rise in fuel prices, he said the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is pushing for the proper regulation of electric motorized vehicles such as e-bikes and e-scooters.
He said LTO regulation 2021-039 aims to regulate these vehicles based on their classification or speed–with electric vehicles capable of running up to 12.5 kilometers per hour (kph) limited to barangay roads or bike lanes while those capable of running up to 50 kph are required to be registered with the LTO and used with safety gear such as a helmet.
Ma Teth Belmin
June 22, 2022 at 10:02 AM
Patuloy pa rin na umaaray ang mga consumer sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng produktong petrolyo kaya siguro nabawasan ang bilang ng mga sasakyan na bumabyahe sa Metro Manila para na rin makatipid sila sa gas at sa ibang importanteng gastusin nalang nila ilaan ang para sana sa Gas.Mas malaking bagay lalo sa pagtitipid ang paggamit ng mga bisikleta lalo at di naman ganon kaimportante ang lakad.Nakatulong ka na sa Kapaligiran dahil walang usok na lumalabas sa tambutso makakatulong at makakabuti pa sa ating katawan dahil isa ring paraan ng pag eehersisyo ang bisikleta.Siguraduhin lang na kompleto sa safety gears bago magmameho nito para maiwasan ang mga di inaasahang disgrasya.
Darlynz Gomez
June 22, 2022 at 11:50 AM
Then it means much of that traffic is non-essential travel. A.K.A lakwatsa. Now people are being more responsible. Good for environment. Expand mass transportation that feed on electric power. And because of the high fuel price people are not using their private vihicles. This should push people to use mass transpo rather than private vehicles. This should also push the governmet to have more and better PUVs and mass transpo.
Hannah Sheila
June 23, 2022 at 2:29 PM
I have few family members that are jeepney drivers who does experience direct impacts due to fuel hikes. They have shared that their income have fluctuates down to atleast 40% due to continous fuel hike in just a span of 3 months and this is the first time I have seen them struggle to provide even their daily necessities because this is the only job they’ve known for the longest time. I believe one the biggest sectors of our economy is the transportaion division and not only the jeepney drivers that transports people but for drivers that transports our daily goods dont have a choice but to raise their prices as well that would impact our daily budget especially the poor who barely survives on a minimum wage. Let’s hope that the new government would have a better strategy to combat the price hikes in the following months.