Mandaue eyes lifting truck ban

CEBU, Philippines — Mandaue City’s traffic arm, the Traffic Enforcement and Management (TEAM), is now studying the possibility of lifting its truck ban.

“Kay amo gyud nakita nga inug human sa oras sa truck ban, grabe gyud kaayo ang traffic sa Mandaue. Pero kini proposal pa lang ni. Amoa pa ning studyhan og maayo. We have to conduct a study first because we have a complete data,” said TEAM executive director Florentino Nimor at a press conference yesteday.

Mandaue City truck ban is from Monday to Saturday at 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. There is no ban on Sundays and holidays.

Nimor added that the truck population passing through the city is about 10 to 15 percent as compared to private vehicles and motorcycles which is about 25 percent.

“Pero considering that one truck is equivalent to three cars,  mahug og daghan gihapon ang mga trucks,” Nimor said.

Nimor added that number coding is also not a solution to solve the city’s traffic as this will only add more volume of vehicles as the rich can afford to buy more cars.

He said that the best solution is mass transportation, which is why they allow buses like MyBus to enter into the city’s major thoroughfares as it has been observed that its ridership is increasing.

Cebu City

Cebu City Councilor David Tumulak yesterday said that the primary cause of the heavy traffic is the large number of vehicles.

“So not only does this concern the government, but this also includes the motorists,” said Tumulak.

He encouraged the motorists to come up with ideas that can help ease the traffic, may it be by means of bicycle, carpooling, or riding the public transportation.

“It is public knowledge that due to the heavy influx of vehicles, it can cause traffic. So we are calling the public on how they can help,” said Tumulak.

He said the government has upcoming projects such as the Bus Rapid Transit and Cebu Light Rail Transit System that aim to reduce the heavy traffic.

To note, the Provincial Board declared on Monday a traffic crisis in Cebu Province. (FREEMAN)