Zamboanga might be first city in Mindanao to get number coding scheme

If you’ve been to Zamboanga City recently, then you might have noticed the rather chaotic traffic situation over there.

The number of car owners in Asia’s Latin City has grown in the last few years. And as the case in Metro Manila, existing infrastructure can't keep up with this pace.

MMDA reminds motorists that window hours for number coding no longer exist | ANC

According to 2019 data from the Land Transportation Office (LTO), more than 105,000 registered vehicles are occupying the city's streets, with that number growing at a rate of six percent a year.

Given this scenario, Local Transport Route Plan head Leonard Alcala is proposing a number coding scheme which aims to reduce the number of vehicles on the road at a given time by 20%, adding that this could also encourage private vehicle owners to use the city's upcoming bus transport system.

A typical day in the City of Flowers

“Unless the city government will do something on its traffic route plan, traffic will be chaotic in the years ahead,” says LTO Zamboanga City district head Noel Noche.

The number coding scheme has been enforced in Metro Manila since 1995, with other areas in Luzon following suit. The cities of Baguio, Cavite, Dagupan, and Cabanatuan have adopted their own version of the scheme.

>>> Update now:

• A short guide to the number coding scheme implemented in Baguio City
• Number coding in Cavite: Schedule, Areas covered, Exemption, Penalty & More

Cavite implemented a number coding scheme a year ago

The Zamboanga City government is currently studying this plan. Once approved, Zamboanga will be the first city in Mindanao to adopt the traffic coding scheme.

Others could follow Zamboanga City's example, with Cagayan de Oro and Davao already seeing an uptrend in vehicle ownership. Only time will tell when traffic in those cities reaches the same levels as those on the capital, necessitating their own traffic mitigation measures.

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