The looming Christmas Rush will be upon us once again and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has laid out its plans in preparation for the upcoming traffic congestion the Christmas season will cause.

Recently, the MMDA announced its traffic management plans to alleviate the anticipated traffic congestion during the Christmas season. MMDA Chairman Atty. Don Artes said the agency earned the unanimous decision from the Department of Public Works & Highways (DPWH), shopping mall operators, water, electricity, and telecommunication companies in carrying out traffic alleviation measures for the coming holidays.

For starters, road right-of-way (ROW) excavation activities in Metro Manila are temporarily suspended from midnight, on November 18 until 12:00 AM on December 25, 2024. These include road reblocking, pipe-laying works, road upgrading, and other excavation works that may hinder or disrupt traffic flow. Exempted from the temporary suspension, however, are flagship projects of the government, DPWH bridge repair and construction, flood interceptor catchment projects, and emergency leak repair, among others.

Aside from that, mall operators in Metro Manila will begin operations starting 11:00 AM onwards which is an hour later than the usual 10:00 AM opening time. With 29 out of the 131 malls in Metro Manila located along EDSA, the later opening will help in alleviating traffic in the metro.

“The closing of mall shopping hours will depend on the mall operators’ preference. But we encourage them to extend to give the public more time to do their errands and last-minute shopping,” said Artes.

Mall-wide sales are also not allowed from November 18 to December 25. However, sales in certain stores or outlets inside the malls may be allowed even on weekdays provided that no announcement, advertisement, or tarpaulin, of the same is posted. Meanwhile, deliveries of shopping mall operators will only be allowed from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM. However, perishable goods such as food and ice are exempted from this.

Last but not least, the MMDA has requested the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to extend the operating hours of public transportation, particularly the EDSA Bus Carousel, LRT, and MRT, to accommodate late-night commuters and mall employees.

According to the latest data from the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center, over 420,000 vehicles traversed EDSA daily as of September 24, 2024. We can expect that number to grow as the holidays draw closer.