00:00 Commuters and motorists in Metro Manila waste about 100 hours a year because of heavy traffic.
00:06 Metropolitan Manila Development Authority or MMDA chairman Romando Artes says,
00:11 "This is caused by the huge volume of vehicles, road obstruction, and the suspension of the No Contact Apprehension Policy or NCAP, among other things."
00:20 The Group Lawyers for Commuters' Safety and Protection or LCSP agrees, except on the issue of the NCAP suspension.
00:27 With the NCAP, the MMDA and local governments can implement traffic rules using traffic management technology.
00:34 "They should not include the NCAP suspension in traffic. Even when NCAP was being implemented by MMDA, traffic is already worse.
00:45 We have not seen that the suspension contributes to the traffic or contributes to being worse in the entire work.
00:56 I hope they will not include it because that is a far-fetched reason."
01:03 There is a temporary restraining order on NCAP amid a consolidated case against it.
01:09 The MMDA says, "The number of apprehensions rose to the tens of thousands after the suspension of the NCAP, an indicator that violators became more brazen without this scheme."
01:20 Meanwhile, motorists and commuters agree with the TomTom Traffic Index 2023, which said Metro Manila has the worst traffic among metro areas across the globe.
01:30 "I used to drive to work but I felt twice as tired when I was driving to work than when I was commuting.
01:39 Now, I think of commuting to relax and rest while I'm on the road."
01:45 "The traffic here in the Philippines, especially in Metro Manila, is really heavy because Metro Manila is very overpopulated."
01:53 "The number of vehicles that are going down the road is very low. There is no discipline.
02:00 Almost all of us here have a car, a motorcycle, a car."
02:05 The Lawyers for Commuter Safety and Protection says, "The best solution to the country's traffic woes is to improve the country's mass transportation system."
02:14 The group adds, "Clearing roads of ambulance vendors and parked vehicles would also help motorists have alternative routes."
02:21 The group pushes for the creation of a committee that would review the number coding policy, as it doesn't seem to help decongest traffic.
02:28 The LCSP also worries that tourism may be affected, as travelers could get discouraged from visiting because of the heavy traffic that awaits them.
02:37 Following the release of the global ranking, the MMDA is studying solutions to the traffic problem.
02:43 The government also vowed to hasten the completion of road projects in Metro Manila.
02:48 Deniza Fernandez, CNN Philippines.
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