The Philippines’ Metro Manila Development Authority (M.M.D.A.) and the World Bank have inked an emissions reduction purchase agreement for a project designed to address traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions in the country’s busiest thoroughfare.

On behalf of the Carbon Fund for Europe, the World Bank will purchase emission reductions worth 364,000 euros ($498,000) from 2011 to 2013 following a 10-year crediting period under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.

Using radio frequency identification technology, the local authority aims to optimize bus traffic along Epifanio De Los Santos Avenue, the main circumferential highway traversing several cities in the capital region Metro Manila.

Each registered bus will be fitted with an electronic tag that can be identified by a computer database, which will allow software applications to support the headway management of the bus routes.

The enhanced bus route system is expected to reduce the number of buses on the road and bus stops, thereby alleviating congestion, cutting the travel time and reducing fuel consumption.

"Better traffic flow along EDSA therefore would enhance the welfare of millions of Filipinos. The project will also reduce outdoor air pollution, which causes sickness affecting more than 1 million people and premature death of 15,000 people every year in urban centers, with an economic and health cost estimated at more than $20 million per year," said Bert Hofman, World Bank country director.

Around 5,000 buses̵, including up to 1,500 illegal operators, contribute to the traffic and air pollution in EDSA.

Oscar Inocentes, the agency’s chairman, said the project is one of the several measures implemented to ease the traffic situation in EDSA while curbing down harmful emissions behind climate change.