Baguio eyes congestion fee within central business district

BAGUIO CITY – In a bid to decongest the central business district (CBD), the city government here is eyeing the imposition of P250 congestion fee for motorists.

Aileen Refuerzo, chief of the city information office, said Friday the plan is part of the proposed Smart Urban Mobility Project aimed to develop the transportation system and services using advanced technologies.

The Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) submitted an unsolicited proposal to the city government, which will be under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

The imposition of congestion fee, similar to Singapore, London, Stockholm, Milan and New York, among other major cities worldwide, is aimed at significantly reducing traffic, carbon emission and energy consumption within the designated zone.

It will also promote discipline among drivers and motorists.

The plan exempts public utility jeepneys and vehicles driven by senior citizens and persons with disability, uniformed personnel on active duty and emergency response vehicles.

Taxis and government vehicles with approved travel orders will have a discounted congestion fee rate while vehicles by Baguio residents will be qualified for rebates, as proposed by the MPTC.

Refuerzo said the MPTC proposals aim to solve not only traffic but to improve overall mobility with services such as transport service platform, traffic command center, parking facilities and traffic enforcement.

The corporation envisions a Singapore-like transport system for Baguio where the riding public can monitor road conditions in real-time using mobile applications as well as book or reserve parking spaces before arrival to lessen the amount of time and petroleum consumed going around looking for possible parking sites.

She said road accidents will also be immediately addressed if the smart traffic command center is in place to monitor roads and dispatch responders, if necessary. (PNA)