MMDA: Upgrade to no contact apprehension system costs P1-billion        

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) ongoing switch to the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) might lead to fewer enforcers on the road, but it will also cost taxpayers Php 1 billion. 

The MMDA aims to complete its Php 1-billion traffic system upgrade in two to three years

This was according to acting MMDA Chairman Carlo Dimayuga III in an interview with The Philippine Star. He said that about 80 percent of traffic lights in Metro Manila’s 272 intersections linked to the MMDA’s Metrobase traffic command center have been upgraded so far under the program. 

The agency previously said that current traffic countdown timers interfere with the signaling detectors used by the stoplights, which is why it is reportedly converting all traffic lights in Metro Manila to an adaptive traffic signaling system. 

Dimayuga explained that the metropolis has been using the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) from Australia for decades. He adds that the system has reached the end of its service life and that spare parts are no longer available from the manufacturer.           

Acting MMDA Chair Carlo Dimayuga III says that the current traffic system used by the agency is already outdated 

SCATS is used as the traffic management standard in 55,000 intersections across 180 cities in 28 countries. It is currently deployed in areas such as New Zealand, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China, Tehran in Iran, and Central New Jersey in the United States. 

Dimayuga also pointed to communications provider PLDT’s migration to digital systems from analog ones, saying that the current traffic signal system had been left behind in a standalone operation as a result. This reportedly led the agency to recommend an upgrade of the traffic signal system. 

The MMDA’s Traffic Engineering Center began the upgrades about a decade ago and will be finished between two and three years. “We still have ongoing projects to complete the upgrading,” Dimayuga said.    

Motorists complain that the lack of countdown timers makes compliance with traffic lights challenging 

Meanwhile, the removal of countdown timers from various intersections has been met by opposition from motorists, who complained that this made compliance with NCAP difficult. They also claim that it made them vulnerable to paying stiff penalties for violations. 

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has called for the suspension and review of NCAP. This was seconded by Rep. Robert “Ace” Barbers in a privilege speech delivered to Congress, saying that NCAP potentially breeds corruption.      

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