Baguio braces for coding trial

BAGUIO CITY — The patience of residents here especially motorists will be tested as the exemption of private motor vehicles transporting senior citizens of the city to and from clinics, hospitals or places of work from the number coding scheme will be put on an experimental run starting Monday, 19 August.

Executive Order No. 82-2024 was issued by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong setting the schedule of the traffic experiment which aims to determine the effects of the exemption contained in a proposed ordinance of the Baguio City Council.

The experiment will be conducted first from 19 August to 18 October covering vehicles driven by senior citizens coming to and from medical facilities and workplaces. The second phase will be from 22 October to 22 November, for vehicles whether private or taxi units ferrying senior citizens to health facilities or workplaces even if the driver is not a senior citizen.

The senior citizens to be exempted from the traffic number coding scheme must be proven residents of the city with proper documents.

The Ordinance No. 40, series of 2024 seeks further amendment of Section 6 of Ordinance No. 1, series of 2003 or the Baguio Number Coding Scheme as amended by Ordinance No. 31, series of 2004 and Ordinance No. 107, series of 2008 to exempt motor vehicles transporting senior citizens who are residents of the city, either as driver or passengers, to and from a medical clinic, hospital or place of work from the city’s number coding scheme was approved by the city council recently.

Magalong earlier vetoed the ordinance to allow the conduct of a proper traffic impact study like the traffic experiment to gather data to determine its effect on the overall traffic situation in the city. 

Meanwhile, city residents are again bracing for the possible impact of a long weekend starting on 23 August as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. moved the holiday that was supposed to be on 21 August, Wednesday to Friday, 23 August 2024.