THE Metro Manila Development Authority has suspended the number coding scheme for both public and private vehicles for today, as the agency prepares for the heavy traffic of people going back to Metro Manila following the holiday break.
“The UVVRP [Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program] or number coding scheme is suspended for private and public utility vehicles on Tuesday, January 2,” the MMDA said in an advisory.
Vacationers and the bulk of passengers coming from the provinces were expected to arrive in the metropolis beginning late Monday afternoon.
The suspension will allow bus companies to use all their available units to fetch passengers from the provinces in Southern and Northern Luzon back to Metro Manila, but it will create traffic since more vehicles will be on the roads, the agency said.
MMDA supervising officer for operation Edison Nebrija Jr. said they will deploy 2,400 personnel from various units of the agency to manage the traffic flow in Metro Manila. Of those personnel, 500 of them will be assigned to Edsa.
“No day-off, no holiday and no absent policy is still in effect. But we are not expecting exodus until Jan. 2,” Nebrija said.
Most of the enforcers to be deployed will be assigned to man traffic in the areas of Balintawak, Commonwealth and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, he added.
“We also have clearing operations in Q-Mart [in Quezon City] and Baclaran [in Parañaque] areas,” Nebrija said.
The MMDA earlier sent out night-shift traffic enforcers in anticipation of heavy traffic in the metropolis days before Christmas Day.
Agency officials have admitted that deploying 500 enforces to man traffic along Edsa is not enough to handle the volume of vehicles, specially during rush hours.
MMDA traffic engineering center chief Noemie Recio said the ideal number of people to control and manage the traffic flow in the National Capital Region is 7,000. She said Edsa alone needs at least 1,000 traffic personnel assigned at seven major chokepoints.
“We need at least 1,000 men along Edsa, that’s the ideal,” Recio said.
The number coding system was devised to keep vehicles out of major thoroughfares on certain days based on the last digit of the license plate.
The system corresponds to 1 and 2 for Monday, 3 and 4 for Tuesday, 5 and 6 for Wednesday, 7 and 8 for Thursday, and 9 and 0 for Friday.
Under the number coding scheme, vehicles are banned from major roads from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., depending on the last digit of their registration plates.