MANILA, Philippines - A transport official is proposing a new traffic scheme for Edsa, giving priority to public utility vehicles during the morning rush hours on weekdays.

It will be a reverse of the current number-coding scheme, that, according to an official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), will remove 80 percent of private vehicles from EDSA during the morning rush hours.

“We have to give priority to the public utility vehicles since private cars can find other roads apart from EDSA,” LTFRB board member Ariel Inton said in an interview yesterday.

Inton proposed that a private vehicle will not be allowed on EDSA from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. four days a week, but allowed to pass through other roads.

All vehicles will be allowed along EDSA and other roads from 9 a.m. onwards.

Under the current number coding scheme, a vehicle is not allowed to ply any road in Metro Manila one day a week from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The last digit of the plate number determines the day a vehicle is prevented from moving around the metropolis.

Under Inton's proposal, the last digit of the plate number determines when a private vehicle will be allowed on EDSA during the morning rush hours.

“The buses will have already transported their passengers by that time (9 a.m.) and some of (the buses) could just stay in their garage until the rush hours in the afternoon,” Inton said, noting that his proposed scheme covers only the morning since people are no longer in a hurry in the afternoon.

According to Inton, he intends to present this proposal to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

He said a number of bus operators claimed policies currently in place were detrimental to their situation, considering that their vehicles are the ones that transport more people.

Inton said what he has in mind is for the community to cooperate and consider EDSA as a big restroom where everyone is accommodated.

“Let the early birds like students, teachers and employees use EDSA and Metro Rail Transit first, and followed by middle managers, and the last are those occupying top positions, who don’t have to rush going to their offices. They are those who can perform their specific roles using cell phones and other high-tech gadgets,” he added.