The City Engineering Office–Traffic and Transportation Management Division (CEO-TTMD) disclosed that almost all jeepney trunklines have resumed their full operation since the city was placed by the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases under a more lenient Alert Level 1 until the end of the month.
However, Engr. Januario Borillo, CEO-TTMD head, claimed that only the jeepney lines serving Trancoville and Aurora Hill had been imposed limit on the number of jeepneys that will be allowed to ply the said routes daily to help in containing the traffic in the central business district area.
In the case of taxi units, he stipulated that there are already 7 numbers of units that are allowed to operate daily and it will just be a matter of time when the usual 8 numbers based on the last digit of their plate numbers will be operating on a daily basis to cater to the increasing demand of public transportation in the city following the easing up of the previous restrictions.
The CEO officially asserted that the existing staging and parking areas of jeepneys that were relocated from their previous parking areas will be maintained because of the positive results that it brought to the current traffic situation within the central business district area.
According to him, the CEO-TTMD continues to engage the transport sector to elicit their suggestions and recommendations on how to further improve the current traffic situation around the city and to ensure the transportation needs of the increasing number of residents and visitors wanting to move around the city will be effectively and efficiently addressed by the members of the transport sector.
Borillo stipulated that the CEO-TTMD is continuously assessing and evaluating the current traffic situation around the city so that appropriate adjustments could be implemented to address emerging concerns while awaiting the putting in place of the city’s traffic signalization system that will surely provide a big boost in further easing the traffic congestions in the central business district area and other choke points around the city.
He appealed to the transport sector to ensure the availability of sufficient number of public utility vehicles, especially during crowd drawing events not only for this month but also for the upcoming Summer in Baguio activities, to allow residents and visitors to conveniently move around the city as part of the ongoing efforts to gradually and safely revive the heavily impacted economy due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic over the past 2 years.
He admitted there is still a lot to be done in trying to address the numerous issues and concerns on the city’s public transport system although the city government is gaining headway in addressing these with the ongoing implementation of various schemes geared towards providing adequate parking areas for the increasing number of vehicles, among other concerns that must be patched up through the implementation of short-, medium and long-term solutions.
Borillo expressed his gratitude to the concerned stakeholders for their continuous support to the programs, projects and activities being implemented by the CEO-TTMD to address the aforesaid public transport issues and concerns purposely for a much better public transport system in the city in the future. (Dexter A. See)