Baguio City may soon impose a PHP 250 congestion fee

Baguio City continues to be the go-to place among local tourists mainly to enjoy its cold weather and parks. Access to the City of Pines has also been made easier thanks to the completion of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) which made the trip from Metro Manila to Baguio no longer than two feature-length movies.

However, it's also the reason why Baguio City now suffers from overcrowding and traffic congestion, especially during weekends and holidays. To fix this, the city is proposing to charge tourists a congestion fee in the hopes of lessening traffic gridlocks and reducing the carbon emissions brought about by the overcrowding of vehicles.

Recently, Aileen Refuerzo, chief of the city information office, said that the plan is part of the proposed Smart Urban Mobility Project aimed to develop the transportation system and services using advanced technologies. Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) submitted the unsolicited proposal to the city government, which will be under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

The imposition of a Congestion Fee is similar to Singapore, London, Stockholm, Milan, and New York. The congestion fee is also hoped to promote discipline among drivers and motorists.

Exemptions

According to the proposed congestion fee, Public Utility Jeepneys (PUJ) plying Baguio City are exempted from the fee. Additionally, vehicles driven by Senior Citizens, Persons With Disabilities (PWD), uniformed personnel on active duty, and emergency response vehicles will be exempted.

Government vehicles on official business, taxis, as well as Baguio City residents, will NOT be exempted from the Congestion Fee but will be given a discounted rate or rebates from MPTC.

MPTC, for its part, envisions a Singapore-like transport system for Baguio City where the riding public can monitor road conditions in real-time using mobile applications, as well as book or reserve parking spaces before their arrival to lessen the amount of time and fuel consumed going around looking for possible parking sites.

Refuerzo also said road accidents would also be immediately addressed once the smart traffic command center is in place to monitor roads and dispatch responders, if necessary.