Amid the numerous voices speaking out on social media, the Senate made its own voice heard via a resolution that seeks to repeal the controversial High Occupancy Vehicle scheme being pushed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) along Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue or EDSA to you and me.
Several Senators filed Senate Resolution 845 that seeks to suspend the implementation of the HOV policy of the MMDa. The scheme calls for the ban of driver-only vehicles along EDSA during rush hours. The Senate, however, believes that this is a prohibitive scheme as it bans the 70% of drivers who constantly use EDSA on a daily basis.
Moreover, the scheme affects vehicle owners who pay road users tax and have the privilege of using the road—even EDSA. The resolution also cited the failure of such schemes in other regions, resulting in such policies being shelved eventually.
At the same time, Senators cited that HOV schemes in various regions were more incentive-driven rather than being restrictive. There are regions and cities, for instance, that allow vehicles with more than one passenger to pass express lanes that help cut travel time.
Yesterday, the MMDA began the dry run of the Metro Manil Council-approved HOV scheme. This naturally drew a lot of flak from various groups and netizens, saying that it is another one of those half-baked schemes that weren’t properly thought out. The Senate tends to agree as it cited the lack of public consultation as another reason to suspend the HOV policy.
