MORE than 100 drivers were flagged down and warned on the first day of the dry run for the implementation of the Yellow Lane policy along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, the Metro Manila Development Authority said Monday.
The agency also said at least 585 motorists were caught violating the Yellow Lane policy.
MMDA assistant general manager for planning Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said as of 12 noon Monday, traffic enforcers had apprehended 70 private vehicles entering the exclusive lane for public utility vehicles while 37 public utility buses were caught outside the lane.
MMDA’s closed-circuit television cameras also caught 364 private motorists and 140 buses violating the policy on Monday.
“We understand our policy is not perfect. We’re still in the process of fine-tuning it,” Garcia said.
“There are still undisciplined drivers, but this number is minimal because 50,000 vehicles are using Edsa in an hour. What’s important is that we have already started and the challenge now is how to sustain it.”
The MMDA is conducting the dry-run activity for the revived policy until today, Tuesday.
Garcia said beginning Wednesday, public utility vehicles such as buses, UV Express and jeepneys will not be allowed to go outside the Yellow Lane. Private vehicles may enter the yellow lane within 100 meters before exiting.
Under the new policy, the first lane from the sidewalk will only serve as a loading/unloading zone while the second lane will be for provincial and point-to-point buses. Loading and unloading on the second lane is forbidden.
Violators will be apprehended via the no contact apprehension policy to avoid obstruction. They will be fined P500 per violation.
MMDA chairman Danilo Lim expressed optimism that the implementation of the policy will eventually cause a smoother traffic flow along Edsa.
“The agency’s target is to remove the image of Edsa as a parking lot and instead a free-flowing road,” Lim said.
Aside from the Yellow Lane, the MMDA is also enforcing its Motorcycle Lane scheme to ease the traffic on Edsa and other areas in the metropolis this holiday season.
Riders without helmet and proper safety gear will also be apprehended.
The designated motorcycle lane will be the fourth lane from the right sidewalk and will run the length of Edsa and other assigned areas. The lanes are “non-exclusive,” which means private vehicles may also use them.
Motorcycle riders may deviate from the motorcycle lanes when making a turn or u-turn at the authorized intersections and u-turn slots, in which case they are to gradually shift lanes not less than 200 meters away from the turning point while making the appropriate signals.
Depending on the violation committed, riders will be penalized P500 to P1,000.
The establishment of the motorcycle lanes is based on Memorandum Circular 12-01 Series of 2012 approved by the Metro Manila Council, the governing board and the policy-making body of the MMDA.
MMDA records show that motorcycle crashes remain the leading cause of death and injury on Metro Manila’s roads.
