The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will soon use microchips to control the flow of buses along EDSA’s loading and unloading bays and other Metro Manila roads.

Officials said they expect the devices to work wonders in traffic management, noting that drivers tend to violate the rules because they can often appeal to traffic enforcers who try to apprehend them.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the use of electronic chips will result in a more effective and efficient way of controlling bus flow along EDSA.

"There would be no more human supervision. It’s all computers, so drivers can no longer claim they are being picked on or that the one apprehending them made a wrong decision because they would be up against
computers," he said.

The MMDA, in a team-up with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), will begin its implementation of a fully automated Organized Bus Route (OBR) scheme on Dec. 15 through the use of
Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID).

The microchips will be installed on more than 3,000 buses legitimately plying the EDSA route within the next two three weeks.

Pairing devices will also be installed in loading and unloading bays, bus stops, terminals, and control stations that will read the microchips in the buses.

"Colorum buses that compete with franchised buses will surely be identified and apprehended under the enhanced OBR because without the RFID tags, they cannot pass through designated terminals and checkpoints
anymore," Fernando said.

LTFRB Chaiman Thompson Lantion, for his part, said that with the combined procedural requirements and the laws guiding his office and the MMDA, the days of buses illegally operating along Metro Manila’s main
roads, as well as those whose drivers engage in trip-cutting and other malpractices are numbered.

Fernando added that improved traffic flow is expected to cut fuel consumption by 35 liters a day which will translate to some P388,000 in savings annually.

The MMDA and LTFRB are preparing to hold training and orientation sessions for bus drivers and operators to educate them on how the enhanced OBR and the use of microchips will work.

Fernando said RFID tags will be mounted and screwed on the upper left part of a bus’ windshield, adding that the "cutting edge gadgets cannot be circumvented or tampered with."

Source: Philippine Star (http://www.philstar.com)