Number coding in the Philippines: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:42, 15 January 2014

Revision as of 11:50, 19 January 2014

Line 1:

{{Cleanup-rewrite|date=May 2009}}

The '''Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program''' (UVVRP), commonly called '''number coding''' or '''color coding''', is a [[road space rationing]] program in the [[Philippines]] that aims to reduce [[traffic congestion]], in particular during peak hours, by restricting the types of vehicles that can use major public roads based on the final digit of the vehicle's [[Vehicle registration plates of the Philippines|license plate]]. First implemented in 1995 in [[Metro Manila]], the program has also been implemented in [[Metro Baguio]] and [[Dagupan]].

The '''Number Coding Scheme''', officially named the '''Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP),''' is a traffic management program in the [[Philippines]] that aims to reduce the amount of vehicular traffic in [[Metro Manila]], the metropolitan area of the country's capital.<ref>[http://www.mmda.gov.ph/mmda%20regulations%20No.%2098-006.htm MMDA Regulation No. 98-006]{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref> The program is enforced by the [[Metropolitan Manila Development Authority]]. The basic idea behind the program is that vehicles whose [[vehicle registration plate|plate numbers]] end with a particular digit are barred from using the main streets of Metro Manila on particular days. For instance, vehicles whose plate numbers end with a 1 or a 2 cannot be brought out to the main streets on Mondays. The program's original proposal mandated that the color of the roofs of public transportation, like [[jeepney]]s and buses, be used as the basis for barring of these vehicles. Hence, the program is also often known as the '''Color Coding

Scheme.'''

==History==

The Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program was the culmination of two plans devised in the mid-1990s to help resolve the issue of heavy traffic congestion in Metro Manila, which by then was the subject of much complaint among motorists, by restricting the number of vehicles on the road. Although it was first implemented in 1995, the UVVRP in its current form dates back to 1996.

===The traffic situation in Metro Manila and initial impetus (1995)===

'''[Insert history of traffic conditions prior to implementation of UVVRP here.]'''

The original UVVRP was conceived by Col. Romeo Maganto, who served as the executive director of the [[Metropolitan Manila Development Authority]]'s traffic management office. First implemented in October 1995 on an experimental basis, it initially targeted public utility vehicles, later expanding to all vehicles plying [[Epifanio de los Santos Avenue]] (EDSA), where traffic congestion in Metro Manila was at its heaviest.<ref name="start" /> Vehicles covered under the original UVVRP were banned from EDSA for the entire day based on the last digit of a vehicle's license plate, similar to the current UVVRP.<ref name="maganto" />

On November 6, 1995, upon the urging of public transport groups, Maganto expanded the UVVRP to include all vehicles on most Metro Manila roads in an attempt to prevent [[rat running]], which caused private vehicular traffic to use secondary roads alongside [[jeepney]]s. By this time, of the estimated 1.1 million motor vehicles then plying city roads, around 70% of those vehicles—which numbered around 800,000—were private vehicles, and the MMDA was under pressure to resolve Metro Manila's worsening traffic problems. The worsening traffic on secondary roads forced Maganto to implement a blanket ban on private vehicles as well, with the ban being implemented during rush hour from 7:00-9:00 a.m. and 5:00-7:00 p.m.<ref name="start" />

On November 23, 1995, then MMDA Chairman Prospero Oreta signed MMDA Regulation No. 95-001 which first laid out the original traffic volume reduction program, which took effect on December 1 of the same year. The original program stated that private vehicles whose plate number ends in an odd number are barred from major streets in Metro Manila on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Likewise, vehicles with plate numbers ending in an even number cannot be used on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The ban was only effected on designated rush hours of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Certain vehicles, such as ambulances, diplomatic vehicles, registered school buses, and those that carry perishable goods, as well as other private vehicles that carry more than two occupants (including the driver) are exempted from the ban.<ref>[http://www.mmda.gov.ph/mmda%20regulations%20No.%2095-001.htm MMDA Regulation No. 95-001]{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref>

The UVVRP, however, at this time was still largely voluntary, and while it was implemented by Maganto's office, the program did not have a legal basis in Metro Manila law. Mayors, in particular [[Jejomar Binay]] of Makati, were leery of the program, accusing Maganto of circumventing the Metro Manila Council, which sets policy for the MMDA, even threatening to resign if mayors did not support the plan. This was compounded by the fact that Maganto's original scheme did not specify penalties for violations of the UVVRP, since penalties could only be imposed by the MMC.<ref name="pressure" /> Tensions came to a head on November 21, 1995, when Senator [[Tito Sotto|Vicente Sotto III]] had to appeal to Maganto and the mayors during a Senate hearing on the scheme to work together to resolve Metro Manila's traffic problems.<ref name="titosotto" />

This changed when on November 23, 1995, Chairman Prospero Oreta signed MMDA Regulation No. 95-001, which codified Maganto's scheme, and mandated that strict implementation of the program begin on December 1, 1995. The final version adopted by the MMDA combined elements of the original UVVRP and the partial ban implemented by Maganto for private vehicles, where vehicles with plate numbers ending in an odd number were to be barred from major streets in Metro Manila on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and vehicles with plate numbers ending in an even number were to barred on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, from 7:00-9:00 a.m. and 5:00-7:00 p.m.<ref name="implementation" /> No total ban was mandated in the version passed by the MMC. This was the subject of much confusion and criticism on the first day of implementation, with motorists claiming that the new scheme did not significantly reduce traffic congestion, unlike Maganto's original scheme.<ref name="implementation" />

===Return to the original UVVRP (1996-2003)===

Although the UVVRP was implemented in the manner specified in MMDA Regulation 95-001, the original UVVRP was reimplemented in early 1996, with Maganto announcing a twelve-hour ban on vehicles plying EDSA depending on the final digit of the vehicle's license plate. Originally imposed due to rehabilitation works on the Guadalupe Bridge, the start of three major road projects resulted in the ban being extended to September in order to reduce the number of vehicles using EDSA to go around affected roads in inner Manila, coexisting alongside the odd-even UVVRP which was implemented on all other roads.<ref name="newban" />

==Current Implementation==

Line 74 ⟶ 82:

==References==

{{reflist}}|refs=

<ref name="start">{{cite news | author=Aravilla, Jose | title=Color-coding scheme ban to include private cars | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1370&dat=19951103&id=DZMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0woEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2346,422628 | work=[[Manila Standard Today|Manila Standard]] | publisher=Kamahalan Publishing Corporation | date=November 3, 1995 | accessdate=January 19, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="maganto">{{cite news | author=Aravilla, Jose | title=Maganto mulls implementing voluntary 'color coding' plan | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1370&dat=19960404&id=UpMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1QoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4671,704481 | work=[[Manila Standard Today|Manila Standard]] | publisher=Kamahalan Publishing Corporation | date=April 4, 1996 | accessdate=January 19, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="implementation">{{cite news | author=Calobo, Arlie | author2=Aravilla, Jose | title=Confusion mars odd-even scheme implementation | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1370&dat=19951201&id=iY0mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1AoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6741,250704 | work=[[Manila Standard Today|Manila Standard]] | publisher=Kamahalan Publishing Corporation | date=December 2, 1995 | accessdate=January 19, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="pressure">{{cite news | author=Frialde, Mike | title=Binay presses stand on traffic scheme | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1370&dat=19951119&id=GJMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0woEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5444,3009367 | work=[[Manila Standard Today|Manila Standard]] | publisher=Kamahalan Publishing Corporation | date=November 19, 1995 | accessdate=January 19, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="titosotto">{{cite news | author=Villanueva, Marichu A. | title=Solon tells quarreling execs to get act together | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1370&dat=19951122&id=GpMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0woEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5582,3490047 | work=[[Manila Standard Today|Manila Standard]] | publisher=Kamahalan Publishing Corporation | date=November 22, 1995 | accessdate=January 19, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="newban">{{cite news | author=Aravilla, Jose | title=Modified color-coding scheme on Edsa until September | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1370&dat=19960423&id=WJMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1QoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3994,3116503 | work=[[Manila Standard Today|Manila Standard]] | publisher=Kamahalan Publishing Corporation | date=April 23, 1996 | accessdate=January 19, 2014 }}</ref>

}}

[[Category:Transportation in Metro Manila]]