LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government is inclined not to further extend the implementation of the modified coding scheme for Baguio-based taxis plying the municipality once the latest extension granted for the said purpose will expire on July 31, 2021.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda stated that the local government will be implementing its own number coding scheme pursuant to an approved ordinance and for as long as the same is not amended, the provisions of the measure will have to be strictly enforced to help in sustaining the gains of effective and efficient traffic management in the locality.
He pointed out that the municipal government should not be compelled to implement modifications on its existing number coding scheme just to suit the interest of the transport sector from other areas because the number coding scheme in the municipality has been designed to effectively and efficiently manage the flow of traffic in the town.
Earlier, Baguio-based taxis that had been allowed to operate following the implementation of the modifications in the city’s number coding scheme were apprehended by traffic enforcers in the municipality for violating the town’s number coding scheme after ferrying passengers to the different parts of the municipality that caused an uproar among the apprehended taxi drivers.
During a recent meeting with representatives from the Baguio City government and concerned taxi operators and drivers, municipal officials emphasized the lack of coordination on the part of city officials to their counterparts prior to the implementation of the modifications on the number coding scheme that resulted to confusion among traffic enforcers, the local transport sector and the commuting public.
Further, municipal officials emphasized that such modifications on Baguio’s number coding scheme must not be conveyed through text messages but the same must pass through channels pursuant to prevailing standards as a show of respect to their counterparts in the other areas.
Initially, Salda approved the implementation of the modified number coding scheme for taxis in the municipality until July 15 but the same was later extended up to July 31 for the greater interest of the commuting public.
However, the local chief executive pointed out that the latest extension that had been granted for the implementation of the modified number coding scheme for taxis in the locality will be the last because the existing ordinance has to be fully implemented for the benefit of both the local transport sector and the general public.
When the initial implementation of the modified number coding scheme for taxis in the municipality was implemented, the formal request to do so was made by a member of the Baguio City council while a member of the Baguio City Traffic and Transport Technical Working Group wrote the local government to further extend the same until the end of the month.
He asserted that the municipal government will implement appropriate measures to sustain the gains of effective and efficient traffic management in the municipality to reduce the traffic congestions in the different parts of the municipality. By HENT
