MMDA meets provincial governors on Metro traffic

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has started to coordinate with provincial governors to speed up the flow of traffic to and from nearby provinces.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando met with Cavite Governor Ayong Maliksi on Monday to propose measures on how to reduce travel time to and from Metro Manila.

"The meeting was very fruitful. The only thing we can do is help one another, create a plan that would help commuters and businessmen in both our areas and to prevent the problem on traffic congestion," Fernando told The STAR.

After Cavite, the MMDA is also set to meet with governors of provinces sharing boundaries with Metro Manila including Rizal Governor Nini Ynares, Bulacan Governor Josie dela Cruz and Laguna Governor Ningning Lazaro.

In expanding its anti-traffic projects outside the National Capital Region (NCR), the MMDA hopes to cut travel time from the metropolis to nearby provinces and vice versa.

MMDA records show that there are about 14 million people in the NCR during the day but at night this is reduced to 12 million, which means that there are about two million people commuting daily to and from the outskirts of the metropolis.

"Right now, the travel time to and from Metro Manila is 20 to 30 kilometers per hour but we can make this faster and turn it to 50 to 60 kilometers per hour. If we are able to do this, the commuters would be able to make it to work earlier," Fernando said.

He added that chances that vegetables, fruits and other perishable items getting spoiled will be greatly reduced because they would no longer have to endure the long hours of travel. In doing so, it would also reduced the transportation cost. — Evelyn Macairan<