The Senate Committee on Public Services resumes hearing today on the proposed emergency powers for President Rodrigo Duterte in order to solve the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila and other highly-urbanized areas.
Transport groups and several non-government organizations (NGO) were present and offered measures to solve the traffic crisis.
Among the measures suggested was car pooling or ride sharing.
Based on records from Uber PH, at least 300,000 commuters take a ride on Uber everyday. This would cut the volume of vehicles on roads should the proposal is approved.
“It is our hope that the senate and other governemnt officials see Uber and ride-sharing as an integral part of the solutions to the country’s traffic challenges and make it easier for Filipinos to share rides with one another rather than restricting it,” Uber General Manager Lawrence Cua suggested.
For its part, the Management Association of the Philippines suggests it would be better to construct a floating bridge and additional overpasses to serve as alternative routes to pedestrians and motorists.
“We need more bridges across Pasig to relief traffic from EDSA and C5,” said Management Association of the Philippines’ Governor-in-Charge, Eddie Yap.
Also discussed in the hearing earlier was the existing problems among provincial and city buses that traverses EDSA which are believed to add traffic.
Based on report from MMDA, there are over 300,000 traversing EDSA everyday while about 4,800 city buses with franchise authorized to travel in Metro Manila.
The hearing also tackled the plan of the Department of Transportation to construct three bus terminals in FTI-Taguig, coastal Baclaran and near Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
The project aims to make a systematic and disciplined bus operations when it comes to loading and unloading system.
“It would be near the coastal-Uniwide area. The construction will start in the latter part of 2016 and we expect to finish by 2018. By that time, operation may begin,” said DOTr undersecretary Ann Lontoc.
The senate targets to decide on the proposed emergency powers before the year ends. — Joan Nano | UNTV News & Rescue
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