DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / August 27) — A councilor is advocating for the city government to implement a “number coding” program to address the worsening traffic crisis. Councilor Jose Marie Bernardo R. Baluran, chair of the committee on transportation and communications, proposed the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) during the council’s regular session on Tuesday. Davao City’s traffic situation gained attention earlier this year after the TomTom Traffic Index ranked it as having the worst traffic globally. Baluran highlighted that the UVVRP, which has been effective in Metro Manila and adopted by cities like Cavite, Dagupan, Cabanatuan, and Baguio, restricts vehicles based on the last digit of their license plates. Under his proposal, vehicles with plate numbers ending in 1 and 2 would be barred on Monday, 3 and 4 on Tuesday, 5 and 6 on Wednesday, 7 and 8 on Thursday, and 9 and 10 on Friday, with no restrictions on weekends and holidays. Baluran emphasized that the program would be temporary, pending the full operation of infrastructure projects like the Coastal Road, Maa flyover, and Ulas Bridge. A study will be conducted by the City Traffic and Transport Management Office (CTTMO) to assess the proposal’s feasibility. The TomTom Traffic Index, which evaluates travel time and congestion levels, ranked Davao City as the eighth slowest among 500 cities surveyed, with an average travel time of 33 minutes and 59 seconds per 10 kilometers, and third in traffic congestion, behind Manila (27th) and Caloocan (39th). (Razl EJ Teman / MindaNews)
