Yesterday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) successfully implemented the first day of the revised EDSA bus lane/Carousel policy which imposes higher penalties on unauthorized vehicles plying the said exclusive lane.

The MMDA reported a total of 514 bus lane violators were ticketed from both 4-wheeled and 2-wheeled vehicles.

During an interview, MMDA Acting Chairman, Atty. Don Artes, reiterated the need to tap technology again, with the use of CCTVs, to effectively manage traffic and apprehend violators, especially since the agency is a bit short when it comes to the number of traffic enforcers.

He then appealed to the Supreme Court to lift the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that was issued last year vs the No Contact Apprehension Program (NCAP), ASAP.

“We really need this kind of technology [NCAP] to monitor and implement traffic rules and regulations on Metro Manila roads,” said Artes, citing that the number of accidents has increased since the NCAP was suspended in August last year.

NCAP was implemented in 5 Metro Manila cities, namely, Valenzuela, Quezon City, Manila, San Juan, and Paranaque. Bataan also had also put an NCAP system, the MMDA operated NCAP along EDSA. But as mentioned earlier, NCAP was slapped with a TRO due to uproar motorists - stemming from inconsistent apprehensions and odd violations.