advice: driving up to/down from Baguio

**diesoline** · April 28th, 2004 02:06 PM

racerx has summed it all up very neatly and i would like to put emphasis on his first advice: give way to vehicles going up. it just boils down to having consideration for the ascending vehicle who already has "bwelo". most of us highlanders know this and one can tell who the lowlanders are by the way they drive (no offense meant, folks). by the way... many of the puvs here are very "mapina" when it comes to "gitgitan".

rafraf: have a safe trip and enjoy your stay.

**hens** · April 28th, 2004 02:09 PM

Originally posted by diesoline
racerx has summed it all up very neatly and i would like to put emphasis on his first advice: give way to vehicles going up. it just boils down to having consideration for the ascending vehicle who already has "bwelo". most of us highlanders know this and one can tell who the lowlanders are by the way they drive (no offense meant, folks). by the way... many of the puvs here are very "mapina" when it comes to "gitgitan".

rafraf: have a safe trip and enjoy your stay.

btw, sir may color coding ba talaga sa Baguio City? sabi kasi sa akin ng mga fx/taxi drivers wag lang daw ako pupunta sa session rd.

**RafRaf** · April 28th, 2004 02:15 PM

tamang tama itong ka-forward lang sa aking ng sister-in-law ko na sasama sa amin pag-akyat...

hens, please take note too.

Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 11:27:30 +0800

From: Adie

Subject: Re: "Baguio color coding"

PR1MO OSCAR M--- asked yesterday [Mon Apr 26, 2004 11:09 am]: "Is it true Baguio has their own version of color coding? If so, what's the story on a vehicle with plate ending?" He added today [Tue Apr 27, 2004 8:41 am]: "If so, how does it work? We don't want to go up and find we can't use our car."

Yes, it's true. According to our Baguio-based PR1MO BING J--- [27-Apr-2004 10:08:23], it was implemented "last year," the scheme is the "same as in Manila" (i.e. plate numbers ending in 1 and 2 are banned Monday; 3 and 4 Tuesday; etc.) and the fine is "PhP400 yata."

I myself didn't know about this Baguio color coding s**t until I read about it in the PDI last week. Apparently, based on the article I chanced upon, a lot of unsuspecting tourists have been victimized by this scheme. (If I remember correctly, the fine is PhP500.)

According to the write-up, there are signs strategically located all over Baguio informing motorists about this CC regulation. (Hey, CESAR DE L---, TONY A--- and I were up there last month and we did NOT see any of these signs, okay? Luckily, we were there from Thursday to Saturday and our license plate was a 3. )

Again, as usual, there's a breakdown in communication somewhere. (Are we surprised?) I don't remember it being announced on Radio, TV or in Print. (Or have I been living under a rock for the past few months?) Or was it intentional? You know ... summer ... tourists ... fines ... I guess you guys get the picture.

Someone just brought my attention to this. This CC biz in Baguio was a topic in one of the chatrooms about 2 months ago. Here are some of the postings -- "ingat sa baguio may color coding na doon, like mmda" [02/09/2004 07:48:19]; "Definitely right ... may color coding doon, ingat lang. Daming pulis doon ngayon, highly visible. Bakit kaya?" [02/09/2004 09:16:38]

"yes meron color coding in busy area, di naman lahat. pwede kang mag re-route, like kung punta ka ng session di talaga pwede, pero pwede naman guisad ka dumaan pag paakyat ka na, in that case walang huli. mero naman karatula kapag papasok ka na ng coding area. pag nahuli ka kukunin lisensya mo, then bayad ka sa munisipyo, then balik ka ulit dun pakita resibo, kuha mo na lisensya mo. medyo abala." [02/10/2004 12:00:37]

"Di ko alam na session road lang ang color coding,next time alam ko na." [02/10/2004 12:17:54]; "di lang sa session ang coding, pero pwede ka mag re-route kung punta ka ng session. anyway di ka naman makakapag park dun ang hirap. Bale kung coding ka at galing ka ng manila pwede ka rin makapunta ng SM kasi di pa coding yung papunta dun, upper session pa kasi yun at dulo na yun ng session. anyway, tama ka dun ka na lang mag park at magpalipas ng after 7pm."

Yeah, but must we frequent chatrooms just to know what's HOT and what's NOT in Baguio? *sigh*

**diesoline** · April 28th, 2004 02:31 PM

yes hens, there definitely is number coding in baguio and it is worse than the metro's. whereas coding in metromanila has the 10am to 3pm window, ours runs from 7am to 7pm. the sad thing about this is that most of the violators caught here are the tourists... talk about this town being tourist-friendly! in fairness to the tourists, the signs are VERY ill-posted. the whole thing has become a black eye to the city and has become another money-making scheme from city hall.

**diesoline** · April 28th, 2004 02:36 PM

BTW number coding is in effect only in the city center. as long as one drives within the outskirts, ok lang.

**vinj** · April 28th, 2004 06:46 PM

On the Baguio coding, i saw a sign that Tourists can obtain exemptions from the police stations.

**boybi** · April 28th, 2004 06:52 PM

Originally posted by diesoline
BTW number coding is in effect only in the city center. as long as one drives within the outskirts, ok lang.

sir, what are the specific streets affected by the color coding? i'll be in baguio this sunday upto monday. and color coded ako ng monday.

**diesoline** · April 28th, 2004 09:20 PM

vinj: exemptions can be had from the police outposts outside the coding zones for P400. i thought it was free... may bayad pala. btw the fine for coding violation is P500.

boybi: if you are coming from either kennon or marcos highway, anyplace beyond the BGH rotonda is coding zone na. one should avoid harrison, gov. pack, session, magsaysay, abanao and gen. luna at all times.

**Automahn** · April 29th, 2004 05:46 AM

If your using an automatic transmission going up, then no problem. If your using a manual tranny, don't "kill" the engine as you climb. By this I mean don't force your vehicle to go up those steep inclines in high gear. I've seen many drivers for instance sticking to 3rd gear and waiting until the engine is vibrating and appears gasping for breath before they decide to downshift. That's one sure way of shortening you engine's life. When going down, use engine brake as much as possible. With automatics, this is the time when you can use the D2, D1, or L shift position. By the way, Marcos Highway is now named the Aspiras Highway. It's safer to use that route; the inclines are more gradual and the lanes have been made wider. However, if you want a test of man and machine then you can try Kennon especially the last few kilometers before entering Baguio, the so-called "bitukang manok".