THE modified uniform truck ban in Metro Manila has again been extended by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for another six months, or from Jan 6 until July 5.
The MMDA’s Metropolitan Manila Council Special Traffic Committee (STC) extended the ban through MMC Resolution No. 4, dated Dec. 13, 2013, signed by STC chairman and Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista.
MMC Resolution No. 4 prohibits cargo trucks and heavy vehicles with gross weight capacity of 4,500 kilograms from plying Metro Manila roads from 6 am to 10 am and from 5 pm to 10 pm every day except Sundays and holidays.
The total truck ban on Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue from Magallanes Village in Makati City to North Avenue in Quezon City will still be implemented the whole day from Monday to Sunday.
Cargo trucks and heavy vehicles loaded with perishable and agricultural cargo are exempt from the ban.
“The committee recognized the success and other positive effects on vehicular traffic flow during the period when the modified truck ban regulation was in effect,” the resolution said.
The resolution also cited the success of the modified truck ban implemented during the Asian Development Bank Summit in 2012.
The STC said the bulk and size of 39,543 trucks, when plying the roads of Metro Manila in large numbers, “not only worsen traffic but also increase the risk of fatal accidents.”
The ban, first implemented from Dec. 7, 2012 to Jan. 6, 2013, was extended until June 6 last year, and was further extended until Jan. 6, 2014.
The Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines is drafting a position paper against the extension of the modified uniform truck ban.––Roumina M. Pablo
Image courtesy of Naypong / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
