BY JHON ALDRIN CASINAS
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will resume the implementation of the truck ban in Metro Manila starting next week.
MMDA General Manager Jose Arturo Garcia said the reimposition of the truck ban is to alleviate the heavy traffic this holiday season.
He also cited the clamor of Metro mayors for the resumption of the ban due to the increase in the number of vehicles plying the roads this Christmas season.
“Vehicles travelling the streets of Metro Manila increase as Christmas approaches so we will return the implementation of the truck ban beginning Monday to help ease traffic,” Garcia said Thursday.
Large trucks are prohibited on major thoroughfares in Metro Manila managed by the MMDA from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Mondays to Saturdays.
Under the MMDA’s existing policy, the truck ban is suspended on Sundays and holidays on major thoroughfares in the metropolis except for Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (EDSA).
Trucks are prohibited on EDSA, from Magallanes Interchange in Makati City to North Ave. in Quezon City, from Monday to Sunday.
Meanwhile, the MMDA said the number coding scheme for private vehicles remains suspended. Last March, the MMDA indefinitely suspended the truck ban policy in the metropolis to ensure the unhampered movement of essential goods amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
