STARTING next week, the working hours for all local government units in the metropolis will be from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. to ease traffic congestion, according to the Metro Manila Council (MMC).
The MMC, the policy-making body of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority whose members are the 17 Metro Manila mayors, said the traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. working hours in government offices “align with the standard working hours of private companies, thereby contributing to traffic congestion in Metro Manila.”
The MMC said in Resolution No.24-08 that “all government offices under the local government units in the National Capital Region shall adopt a modified working schedule from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“This Resolution shall take effect on April 15 and after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation and the filing of three copies thereof with the Office of the National Administrative Register, UP Diliman,” the MMC resolution added.
The MMC encouraged the 17 Metro LGUs to enact their respective ordinances for the adjusted work schedule.
National government agencies in Metro Manila were also “strongly encouraged” to adopt the modified work schedule.
“This adjustment aims to distribute the ingress and egress of employees, thereby mitigating traffic congestion in the peak hours,” the resolution said.
It likewise recommended Malacanang to issue an executive order for the implementation of the adjusted work schedule for national government agencies in Metro Manila.
Earlier, the Management Association of the Philippines urged the national government to declare a state of calamity in Metro Manila and appoint a traffic czar due to the worsening traffic congestion.
Data from the 2023 TomTom Traffic Index listed Metro Manila as having the worst traffic congestion among 387 metropolitan areas in the world.
Data from the MMDA showed the primary cause of traffic congestion was the “increase in the volume of vehicles.”
The data showed that in 2021 there were 3,197,673 vehicles in Metro Manila, with the number increasing to 3,535,755 in 2022 and 3,634,233 vehicles in 2023.
The rapid increase in the number of vehicles also resulted in a decrease in the average travel speed of vehicles in the metropolis, from 30.63 kilometers per hour (kph) in 2021 to 24.52 kph the following year, and 24.46 kph in 2023.
It also resulted in an increase in transportation costs from P4.9 billion a day in 2020 to P9.4 billion a day.
FEWER VIOLATORS
The MMDA said it recorded fewer violators of the EDSA Bus Carousel Lane in March compared to last January.
From 227 in the first week of January, the agency said the number went down to 16 last month.
The agency credited the strict enforcement of the EDSA bus lane policy and its information campaign for the continuing downward trend in the apprehension of erring motorists.
“Due to the strict implementation of the EDSA Bus Lane policy, we can see a continuous decrease in the number of violators,” the agency said.
Overall, the MMDA said 1,051 drivers were apprehended for disregarding the bus lane policy in the first three months of the year.
Topping the list of violators are motorcycle riders with 783, followed by cars at 205, vans at 29, taxi cabs at 21, and 13 for other kinds of vehicles.
Under the policy, only authorized vehicles are allowed to utilize the EDSA bus carousel lane.
These include public utility buses, emergency vehicles, and clearly marked government vehicles responding to emergencies.
