Quezon City mayor: ‘No garage, no car’ policy must cover PUVs

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista says he is supporting a proposal to prohibit the sale of motor vehicles if the owners do not have garages as one of the possible means to solve Metro Manila’s traffic woes.

However, Bautista, who chairs the Special Traffic Committee of the Metro Manila Council (MMC) told reporters yesterday that public utility vehicles (PUVs) should also be included in the prohibition.

The Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (HPG) made the proposal as the government continues to devise the worsening traffic situation in the metropolis.

Bautista said one of their mistakes as Metro Manila’s leaders was allowing car owners without garages to park along inner streets.

He told reporters at the Manila Yacht Club, where the HPG had its first meeting with the MMC, that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board could refuse to issue franchises to PUV operators without terminals.

The MMC, the policy-making arm of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), is composed of all the mayors of Metro Manila.

Bautista told reporters that members of the MMC will draw up possible solutions to the traffic mess, including alternative routes based on an earlier proposal and the revival of the 17 identified “mabuhay” or alternate lanes.

Bautista added that the local government units are covered by the 23.8-kilometer stretch of EDSA will also tackle with the HPG contingency measures for the coming Christmas season when vehicular traffic is expected to increase in volume.