STARTING next Monday, private motorists should stay off the yellow lanes for buses on a portion of Edsa if they want to avoid paying a fine of P500.

In a meeting last week, Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, head of the Edsa Technical Working Group (TWG), and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said that on Jan. 18, they would begin cracking down on private vehicles using the yellow lanes on the southbound portion of Edsa between Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City and Guadalupe in Makati City.

Almendras explained that they picked this particular stretch as it was the “most problematic” area during the morning rush hour.

The plan, however, is to eventually implement the policy on the whole stretch of Edsa.

According to him, private motorists can only use the bus lanes (the two outermost lanes of Edsa) if they are making a right turn. “If they will not cooperate, we will issue tickets,” he said, adding that the MMDA and Highway Patrol Group (HPG) would be deploying more men for the enforcement of the policy.

Almendras noted that when private vehicles keep out of the yellow lanes, buses can move faster.

Under MMDA Memorandum Circular No. 08 Series of 2012, private vehicles are not allowed to use lanes for Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) or yellow lanes unless they are turning right to get to a side road or entering Edsa from a side road. Violators face a fine of P500.

Despite this, many have observed that a lot of private vehicles can still be seen using the PUV lanes.

Asked if they were being lenient to violators, PNP-HPG director Chief Supt. Arnold Gunnacao said that apprehending these would disrupt the continuous flow of vehicles on the major thoroughfare since there were previously no delineators to separate the yellow lanes from the ones for private vehicles.

“But now, we have started fixing the barriers placed along Edsa to educate motorists,” Gunnacao explained, as he expressed hope that undisciplined drivers would start following traffic rules from now on.

He added that the HPG would be making further adjustments to avoid confusion among motorists.

“We will place concrete barriers on these entry and exit points for the motorists to properly identify them,” he said, noting that this was what they did when they placed barriers on the southbound lane between Kamuning and Cubao in Quezon City. -Maricar B. Brizuela