Past the halfway point of 2019, more than 22,000 vehicles have been observed to have been added to the daily volume of cars plying EDSA this year, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago said that from the daily average of 383,828 vehicles in 2018, the agency registered 405,882 vehicles crossing the stretch of EDSA as of August 2019.
Pialago said that the number of motorcycles increased the most, recording a total of 110,167 as of August 2019, or 24,085 more compared to 86,082 units last year.
Meanwhile, the MMDA tallied 255,732 multi-wheel vehicles crossing EDSA as of this month, recording an increase of 4,104 compared to 2018’s 251,628 daily average.
The number of city buses also grew by 226 or 2,166 higher than the previous year’s 1,940 average per day.
MMDA said that the volume of vehicles would further increase as the Christmas season draws closer, saying that an average of 427,000 vehicles would use EDSA beginning September.
Pialago and MMDA traffic czar Edison Nebria earlier expressed their support of granting President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers to resolve the issue of traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila mayors have 60 days to improve the traffic congestion in their respective areas.
A roadmap aimed to resolve the issue of congestion on EDSA is also being eyed by the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation. – With Ghio Ong/STAR
