ffif".

ss Insght
Tuesday, September 17, 2Ot9

Solon wants private vehicles

out of Edsa during rush hours
BY WEI{DELL VIGIIJA
CALOOCAN Rep. Edgar Erice
walts private vel-ricles barLned from
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue
(Edsa) during rush hour, saying it
should iust be twoed into a "mass
tansport highway" to ptiotitize
working commuten.
Erice said ptivate vehicles
should be prohibited from Edsa'
from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
to 9 p.m. to help decongest it and
make it exclusive to pubJic utitty
' vehicles (?UVs) for the sake of
ordhary workers,
"\ffe have to be able to bdng our
workers home 6rst quickly and ef-
{iciendy," the lal'rnaker, a member
of the opposition Liberal Party
(I-P) who is alLied with the majoriil'
bloc, told dzMM.
Erice said the proposal should
be implemented until the compie
tion of the rehabilitation of the
MM-3, the Meto Manila subrval',
and anoths toad connecting the
notthern and southern Luzon
exPressways.
He broached the idea, which he
is planning to 6Ie in a form of a
rcsolution, during the pre-plenary
heating on the proposed budget
of tie Metro Maiila Development
Authodw O{MDA) fot 2020, say-
ing "itk time for orvners of private
vehicles to sacrifice for the sake of
otdinaty workers."
Erice noted that the number of
private vehicles passing through
Edsa reaches up to 300,000 daily
while thete only about 8,000 buses.
'qVe have to prioritize tie condi
tion of our ordinary workers, the
See SOLON > Page 85

SOLON study if motorcycles and transport

poor, the lower middle class, those
vho do not orvn vehicles,"
he latet
told reporters.
Erice said his proposal, while
temporary, would improve trafec
flow, save fuel and increase the
profit of PUV drivers.
"It will provide an immediate
solution," he said, that the proposal
would be adopted and impleme nt-
ed by the MMDA as the Ciristmas
season approaches.
He said the MMDA lrrill have to
newotk vehide services (|NVS)
will be included in the ban.
MMDA chaiman Danilo Lim
said the agency will "setiously"
consider Ericet proposal and dis-
cuss it udth Metro Manila mavors
during the Meuo Manila Council
meeting next month.
MMDA general manager Jojo
Garcia said the MMDA will
have to study if it could adopt a
"hybrid" scheme that would al-
low private vehicles to pJy Edsa
during rush hours as'long
these are carrying three or more
Passengers.
"We'll discuss these (on) Octo-
ber 2 or 3. We'll alk about it and
study the proposal. !7e can also
make it hybtid," he said.
Quezon City Rep. Precious
Hipolito Castelo called on the
Land Transportation Franchise
Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to is-
sue provisional authority for new
buses that will serve Common-
wealth to help ease the plight of
stranded commutec.
as 'The ptovisional authodty will
allow new buses io Commoo-
wealth to untangle the thousands
of stranded commuters spilling
over to four laqes of the avenue
du-ring the rush hour which is ag-
gravated by the MRT-7 bonstruc,
tion," Castelo said,
The neophyte lawmaker agreed
that Quezon City's maior rhor-
oughfare could become the "next
Edsa" if it is left uoaftended.
"We should heed the tell-tale
signs of another Edsa and take
the necessaty measures as early as
possible," she said.

o
trra)r F*Qel