Palace urges public to give ban on driver-only cars a chance
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang Thursday urged the public to give the high-occupancy vehicle scheme a chance after some drivers described it as discriminatory.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has good intentions for implementing the scheme, among them to reduce the volume of vehicles on EDSA.
"The MMDA prohibits driver-only vehicles for a period of time to encourage people nga to resort of carpooling. If there is carpooling there are less cars on the road, and now that gasoline prices are rising, this can help us save on gasoline. So let's give it a chance," Roque said in a press briefing.
"We are exploring everything to come up with a solution to the traffic problem," he added.
Under the HOV scheme, driver-only vehicles are barred from traversing EDSA from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. The scheme seeks to ease the traffic congestion in the major thoroughfare.
Some critics claimed the scheme discriminates against people who cannot hire drivers. The Senate has approved a resolution asking the MMDA to suspend the scheme.
Roque said other countries, including the United States, have adopted a similar scheme.
"It is being implemented in several parts of the world. They did not complain of discrimination. It's about the use of police power to reduce the volume of vehicles on the road and to save on gasoline and diesel," the presidential spokesman said.
"We are not the first one to experiment on that. Let's see if it is effective. Let's try it first," he added.
About 4,200 motorists violated the new scheme during the first day of its dry run last Wednesday. — Alexis Romero
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