METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Oscar Inocentes vowed Friday to act immediately and resolve the issue of the controversial single traffic ticketing system.
This came after transport groups reiterated their appeal for a unified ticketing system in the metropolis.
The transport groups led by the Alliance of Concerned Transport Operators (Acto) is pressing the MMDA to adopt the unified scheme, saying the different traffic citation tickets of local government units and their varying charges continue to burden them.
Inocentes said they would address the single traffic ticketing plan in the scheduled Metro Manila Council (MMC) meeting next week, which will be attended by the 17 mayors in Metro Manila.
The MMC is the policy-making body of the MMDA.
Acto president Efren De Luna said he is confident the long running issue would be resolved sooner.
"I believe that Chairman Inocentes, being a former judge, knows that the law must be implemented no matter how complicated it is," he said, adding that "there must be uniformity in Metro Manila.
He said bus and jeepney drivers have long been suffering with the existing scheme wherein local government units in Metro Manila issued different traffic citation tickets or official violation receipts or OVR.
For his part, Inocentes vowed to initiate a discussion on the subject among the mayors.
"I will study this matter thoroughly and then will make the necessary actions. I will do everything in my capacity to improve immensely the traffic situation in Metro Manila. We hope the mayors will arrive at a common decision on the matter," Inocentes said.
De Luna further stressed that the public transport sectors are in favor of the single ticketing system and want the MMDA to be the sole agency to issue TVRs in Metro Manila.
The single-ticketing plan seeks to make uniform the system of issuing citation tickets all over the metropolis, including policies and fees.
During the time of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, some mayors expressed opposition to the single-ticketing scheme.
Apart from Acto, de Luna said other transport groups such as the Liga ng Transportasyon at Opereytor ng Pilipinas led by its president Orlando Marquez, Metro Manila Operators Drivers Alliance through its president Madel Guillermo, and Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines and Southern Luzon Bus Operators Association led by Engineer Homer Mercado, have expressed the same views on the subject. (AH/Sunnex)