MMDA Sets Sights on Making 'No Window Hours' Policy Permanent

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is said to seriously consider making the 'No Window Hours' policy permanent. MMDA officer-in-charge Thomas Orbos said that the potential change is because of the positive results the policy generated with its implementation over the holidays. Orbos said the policy, along with the banning of provincial buses from EDSA, helped ease the flow of vehicles at choke points and sped up traffic by an impressive margin.

“We have data that would show that during the holidays, our speed count was faster in most of the days. The average of 10 minutes [faster speed travel> was achieved,” Orbos said in an interview. MMDA obtained the data from navigation app Waze. Orbos adds that MMDA will release the study's results in the coming weeks.

The 'No Window Hours' policy started October 17, 2016 and is scheduled to end on January 31, 2017. Orbos plans to present the proposal to extend the policy to the Metro Manila Council (MMC). He also plans to include the provincial bus ban on EDSA in his proposal. In addition, he also revealed that the council will discuss the possibility of banning shopping malls from conducting weekend sales. "We're not saying we will try to limit their business outputs, but we may try to manage certain areas where we can be of help to them as much as they can of help to us as well," he said.

The road to a permanent 'No Window Hours' policy

The MMDA conducted a dry run of the policy some time in the middle of October 2016. The dry run, according to Orbos, reduced travel time from Monumento to Roxas Boulevard by at least 10 minutes. "We have traffic counters on EDSA and C5. Lumalabas na dati 1 hour and 27 minutes from Monumento to Roxas Boulevard," Orbos said, claiming that with the implementation of the policy, travel time was reduced to 1 hour and 16 minutes. This was to clarify an earlier statement that the initiative only led to a mere 3-minute reduction, which he claims was just for a specific area on EDSA.

The success of the dry run prompted the Metro Manila Council to extend the policy's time frame, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays to 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. “All mayors were supportive of the no-window scheme, na-reiterate nila yung support nila and officially we are now including Alabang-Zapote and Roxas Boulevard,” Orbos said.

Metro mayors approve

Orbos noted that it was in fact the mayors of Metro Manila who proposed the metro-wide implementation of the policy after they noticed the difference during the dry run. “They realized the effect nung no-window hours nakaganda. Sila mismo, in fact sa usapan namin they are already thinking of a Metro Manila-wide no-window,” he said.

Orbos added that they only suspended the implementation due to the hectic Christmas season. “Nag-agree na pag ginawa mo yun, lalo na magpa-Pasko, may mga tatamaan na mga lugar kung saan naman yung komersiyo ay sayang naman at makikinabang sa little they can get for the Christmas season,” Orbos said.

The full roll-out

The full roll-out of the 'No Window Hour' policy started October 17, 2016, and was expanded on November 2, 2016 All Soul's Day to accommodate the increase in traffic brought about by the holiday. Dubbed the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program, the initiative covered 23 major Metro Manila roads including:

Radial roads

• R-1: Roxas Blvd. — from C.M. Recto to MIA Road
• R-2: Taft Ave. — from Lawton to Redemptorist
• R-3: SSH (Pres. Osmeña Highway) — from Pres. Quirino Ave. to Nichols Interchange
• R-4: Shaw Blvd. — from Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. to Pasig Blvd.
• R-5: Ortigas Ave. — from Santolan to Imelda Ave.
• R-6: Aurora Blvd./Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. — from Legarda/Ramon Magsaysay to C-5 Katipunan
• R-7: España, Quezon Ave., and Commonwealth Ave. — from Carlos Palanca to Quezon Ave., to Commonwealth Ave, to Mindanao Ave.
• R-8: A. Bonifacio Ave. — from Blumentritt to EDSA Balintawak
• R-9: Rizal Ave. — from Carriedo to Monumento, Caloocan
• R-10: Northern Coastal — from Recto to C-4

Circumferential roads

• C-1: C.M. Recto Ave. — from Roxas Blvd. to Legarda
• C-2: A.H. Lacson Ave., Pres. Quirino Ave. — from Roxas Blvd. to R-10
• C-3: G. Araneta Ave., Sgt. Rivera — from N. Domingo to R-10
• C-4: EDSA — from R-10 to Macapagal Blvd.
• C-5: Pres. C.P. Garcia Ave. — Commonwealth Ave. to South Super Highway

Major thoroughfares

• A. Mabini St. — from Samson Road to C-3 road
• Alabang Zapote Road — from Alabang to Real St./Quirino Ave.
• MacArthur Highway — from Monumento Circle to Valenzuela/Meycauayan Boundary
• Marcos Highway — from Katipunan to Sumulong Highway (Metro Manila area)
• Las Piñas City
• Mandaluyong City
• Makati City

If the 'No Window Hours' Policy becomes permanent, you can expect it to be applied to these roads the same way as before. Doctors, media personnel, and senior citizens may apply for exemption from the number coding scheme.