SOME 41,000 citation tickets for various traffic violations were issued by the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) during Mayor Edgardo Labella’s first 100 days in office, earning for City Hall around P21 million.
Based on the data presented by CCTO spokesperson Ronnie Nadera, a total of 40,812 tickets were issued to 23,171 motorists and pedestrians from July 1, 2019 to Oct. 8, 2019.
Nadera said the number of citation tickets issued is twice the number of violators because there were cases where a motorist or pedestrian had two or three violations.
“There are violators who committed more than one violation . That’s why the number of tickets issued is way more than the number of individuals,” he explained.
The CCTO issued 991 citation tickets for illegal parking, 1,495 for overnight parking, 187 tickets for violations of pedicab drivers, 482 tickets to e-bike drivers, 242 tickets to tricycle drivers, 713 tickets to motorcycle drivers and 19,061 tickets to pedestrian violators.
The apprehension is CCTO’s response to Labella’s short-term measures in solving the traffic problem, which includes the strict implementation of traffic rules.
In his report on his accomplishments during his first 100 days in office on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, Labella said he had a series of meetings about the budget for traffic system improvements with the CCTO personnel, traffic experts and civic groups like the Cebu Road Heroes, a group dedicated to road discipline.
“The outcome of these meetings is an executive order that puts a pressure on enforcement. The swift apprehension of undisciplined drivers is a proven tool for decreasing traffic violations and easing congestion,” Labella said in his speech.
In his order, all traffic enforcers must patrol the areas where drivers with no discipline are “getting worse by the minute.”
He also asked them to issue, along with citations, a formal requirement for traffic re-education, and impose higher fines in order to cultivate self-regulation.
CCTO should also be aggressive in apprehending moving violations and plain-view offenses, go after stubborn jeepney drivers who load or unload passengers in front of No Stopping signs, and look out for vehicles that are not road-worthy and keep them off the streets.
For long-term solutions, Labella called on the stakeholders and volunteer groups to act as traffic educators and watchdogs.
He also pushed for the Integrated Intermodal Transport System (IITS) combining monorail and rapid bus transits, as well as the third bridge connecting Cebu City and Mactan Island.
The total upgrading of the traffic lights system also topped his solutions to traffic congestion, adding that the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) that the CCTO is using is already 30 years old.
He is eyeing the use of artificial intelligence and high-resolution cameras to monitor the roads, apprehension of violators and the calibrated regulation of traffic flow.