Newsletter_March-April '10 Save PDF - Philippines Bases ...

In the NewsSCTEX Traffic VolumeHits New HighTraffic volume on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) reached a record high last April 4, EasterSunday, when the number of vehicles passing through the tollway, measured in terms of toll cash transactions,totaled 39,555.This was 15% higher than the 34,421 cash transactionsregistered on Easter 2009, according to statistics released bythe Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA),builder and concessionaire of the SCTEX.Nearly 94 kilometers long, SCTEX is the country’slongest expressway. Linking the three major economic andindustrial zones of Central Luzon–the Subic Bay FreeportZone, the Clark Freeport Zone and the Central TechnoPark in Tarlac–it has made travel between Metro Manila andCentral and Northern Luzon faster and more convenient.Measured on a daily basis, the 37,246 cash transactions postedon April 3, Black Saturday, is SCTEX’s second largest so far,bettered only by Easter Sunday’s record high. This marked a 6%rise from the previous year’s 35,156 cash transactions.However, the highest percentage increase was recorded onMarch 31, Holy Wednesday, when toll cash transactions reached36,800 which exceeded by 21% the 30,384 transactions recordedon the same day in 2009.“The traffic volume record posted during the last HolyWeek proves that a growing number of motorists now realizethe benefits they gain in using the SCTEX,” Robert Gervacio,SCTEX program manager and spokesperson said. “Not onlydo they get to their destinations faster, travel becomes saferand more comfortable.”With thousands of motorists leaving Metro Manila to goto pilgrimage sites or to their favorite vacations spots, trafficvolume increases sharply during Holy Week.This year, from Holy Wednesday to Easter, 171,767 tollcash transactions were recorded in SCTEX. This representeda 14% improvement from the 150,041 total registered for thesame five-day period in 2009.6