PASIG CITY, (PIA) -- The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will deploy some 25 vehicles starting today, March 6 to provide free rides for commuters affected by the transport strike.
MMDA Acting Chair Atty. Don Artes said contingency measures were already in place to ensure that the commuting public will not be inconvenienced and transportation operations will not be paralyzed during the seven-day transport strike set by transport group Manibela.
"These libreng sakay vehicles that we will deploy starting Monday can carry around 1,200 passengers per trip," Artes said.
Meanwhile, the MMDA has lifted the implementation of the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or the expanded number coding scheme today, March 6.
An inter-agency meeting was held Sunday at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City to finalize the emergency plans, prepositioning of assets and transport routes that will be affected by the strike.
"The UVVRP suspension is for Monday only. We will assess if there is a need to suspend the number coding scheme on the succeeding days, depending on the gravity of the transport strike," said MMDA General Manager Usec. Procopio Lipana, who is also the head of the Inter-Agency Task Force Monitoring Team secretariat.
Around 1,200 vehicles will be dispatched by the local government units in the National Capital Region to help ferry stranded commuters.
Likewise, MMDA will deploy more than 2,000 personnel to monitor situations on the ground. They are tasked to give immediate feedback and reports as to areas where there are stranded commuters. (MMDA/PIA-NCR)
