MORE than 7,000 motorists were accosted and warned by traffic enforcers for violating the expanded Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program or number coding scheme during its 3-day dry run in the metropolis, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said yesterday.
The dry run started on Monday, August 15, and ended yesterday.
Starting today, traffic enforcers will start apprehending and giving citation tickets to motorists who will violate traffic reduction scheme. A fine of P300 will be meted to offending motorists.
The MMDA said a total of 7,405 motorists along EDSA and other major thoroughfares were issued warnings by traffic enforcers the dry run period.
Yesterday, the MMDA said 2,878 were accosted and warned. On Monday, 1,588 motorists were flagged down, while 2,939 were stopped on Tuesday.
All violators were merely given warnings since the expanded number coding scheme was still on a dry run.
“Sa Huwebes, asahang manghuhuli na ang MMDA sa pamamagitan ng on the ground apprehension at ng No Contact Apprehension Policy sa mga lalabag (Starting Thursday, we will start apprehending motorists on the ground as well as for the no-contact apprehension policy),” the MMDA said.
The expanded number coding scheme is in effect from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, except holidays.
The MMDA has been implementing the UVVRP prior to the COVD-10 pandemic to lessen the volume of vehicles on major streets in Metro Manila, including the almost 24-kilometer stretch of EDSA, the capital’s main thoroughfare.
Pre-pandemic, the MMDA said about 405, 000 public and private vehicles traversed EDSA daily.