1001 Smart Cities
🇵🇭 Manila

Number Coding: Metro Manila's Plate-Based Driving Ban

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 6 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

6 sourced claims on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

✎ Corrected 27 Aug 2026 1 source removed. What changed →

Plate-based rationing has run since December 1995, but the ban is defined by its exemptions: expressways, motorcycles, public transport, hybrids and electric cars. Enforcers, not cameras, do the catching.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence📰 Mediagrades the sourcing — this entry states no impact figure
what does this mean?The strongest source is press reporting; no primary evaluation was located. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byMetropolitan Manila Development Authority, with member city governments enforcing local variants
Scale🗺️ Regional

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,167 documented projects · 🏙️ 9 more in Manila · 🚦 Traffic management guide · 🚲 Mobility projects

The MMDA has rationed road space by licence plate since December 1995: cars whose plates end in 1 or 2 stay off Metro Manila roads on Mondays, 3 or 4 on Tuesdays, and so on to 9 or 0 on Fridays, banned from 7-10am and 5-8pm with a midday window. Expressways, motorcycles, public transport and, under the 2022 electric vehicle law, hybrid and electric cars are exempt, and cities inside the metro vary the window hours. Enforcers do most of the catching: camera enforcement was restrained by the Supreme Court in 2022 and only partly restored to the MMDA in May 2025.

Live 📅 since 1995

🎓 Lesson

Thirty years in, a rationing rule is defined as much by its exemptions and its enforcement gaps as by the ban itself.

🚲 MobilityTraffic managementSensors & IoTPrivacy & personal data

Sources

↗ Wikipedia — number coding in the PhilippinesReference work, read 2026-08-27. Continuously revised, so no publication date is recorded (date: null). Origin: MMDA Regulation No. 95-001 signed 23 November 1995, strict implementation from 1 December 1995 after an experimental EDSA run in October 1995; the scheme was suspended metro-wide from 13 March 2020 until 30 November 2021.
↗ GMA News — MMDA to implement the expanded number coding scheme (11 Aug 2022)The rules in force today: plates ending 1-2 Monday, 3-4 Tuesday, 5-6 Wednesday, 7-8 Thursday, 9-0 Friday, banned 7-10am and 5-8pm; the scheme began 15 August 2022 with warnings only until 17 August.
↗ Rappler — a guide to Metro Manila's number coding schemesPublished 27 May 2025Read in full 2026-08-27 through a text-extraction proxy, because rappler.com answers curl and WebFetch with HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive holds no capture; the proxy reports the publication time as 2025-05-27. Carries the variation this entry cites: 'the coding scheme is in effect from 7 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 8 pm, except in Makati City, where it is implemented from 10:01 am to 4:59 pm with no window hours.' Its main subject, the EDSA odd-even scheme, was cancelled — see the GMA report of 1 June 2025.
↗ GMA News — camera enforcement to resume for the MMDA (21 May 2025)The camera-enforcement question: a Supreme Court spokesperson confirms the 2022 restraining order was lifted only for the MMDA and only on major thoroughfares such as C5 and EDSA, while city ordinances remain restrained and the constitutional petition is undecided.
↗ Rappler — the Supreme Court partially lifts its order on camera enforcementPublished 20 May 2025Read in full 2026-08-27 through a text-extraction proxy (rappler.com returns HTTP 403; no Internet Archive capture). Published 20 May 2025. The Supreme Court lifted the restraining order partially, for major roads named individually — Buendia, C5, Commonwealth, EDSA, E. Rodriguez, Katipunan, Marcos Highway, Quezon Avenue, Roxas Boulevard and West Avenue — on an urgent motion by the Solicitor General.
Show 5 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ Rappler — how camera enforcement works, and how to contest itPublished 25 May 2025Read in full 2026-08-27 through a text-extraction proxy (rappler.com returns HTTP 403; no Internet Archive capture). Published 25 May 2025. Enforcement resumed on 26 May 2025 on the listed radial and circumferential roads, and the piece sets out how a notice is issued and contested.
↗ Manila Bulletin — no number coding for electric, hybrid and plug-in vehicles (8 Oct 2025)The exemption: Section 25 of Republic Act No. 11697 of 2022 exempts battery-electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and light electric vehicles from the scheme, reiterated by the energy department in October 2025.
↗ GMA News — the MMDA cancels its odd-even scheme as the EDSA rehabilitation is postponed (1 June 2025)The 2025 near-replacement: an odd-even scheme was to supersede number coding on EDSA from 16 June 2025 during the road's rehabilitation, then was cancelled when the works were postponed; number coding continues.
↗ Inquirer — number coding suspended over the Christmas and New Year holidaysPublished 22 December 2025Read in full 2026-08-27 through a text-extraction proxy (inquirer.net returns HTTP 403 to curl); the article gives 'Mon, 22 Dec 2025' and an update at 4:05 p.m. the same day. Coding lifted 23-25 December 2025 and 29 December 2025 to 2 January 2026.
↗ GMA News — MMDA confirms number coding runs normally on SONA day (26 Jul 2026)Currency check: the scheme is in force as of late July 2026, with the MMDA confirming it would run normally on the day of the president's address to Congress.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 1995. 9 of 10 sources carry a publication date, from 11 August 2022 to 26 July 2026.

When the sources were published

  1. GMA News · pressGMA News — MMDA to implement the expanded number coding scheme (11 Aug 2022)
  2. Rappler · pressRappler — the Supreme Court partially lifts its order on camera enforcement
  3. GMA News · pressGMA News — camera enforcement to resume for the MMDA (21 May 2025)
  4. Rappler · pressRappler — how camera enforcement works, and how to contest it
  5. Rappler · pressRappler — a guide to Metro Manila's number coding schemes
  6. GMA News · pressGMA News — the MMDA cancels its odd-even scheme as the EDSA rehabilitation is postponed (1 June 2025)
  7. Manila Bulletin · pressManila Bulletin — no number coding for electric, hybrid and plug-in vehicles (8 Oct 2025)
  8. Inquirer · pressInquirer — number coding suspended over the Christmas and New Year holidays
Show 1 more dated sourcesShow fewer
  1. GMA News · pressGMA News — MMDA confirms number coding runs normally on SONA day (26 Jul 2026)

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. 1 source removed
  2. Entered the record
  3. Sources last read

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 6 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence Passport · public beta 6 addressable claims, 10 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The passport is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 6

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-a5e803bc01511e73 quantitative
The MMDA has rationed road space by licence plate since December 1995
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
MMDA Regulation No. 95-001 was signed on 23 November 1995 with strict implementation from 1 December 1995, after an experimental run on EDSA in October 1995.
Caveat
A reference-work account of a 1995 regulation; no primary text of the regulation is cited here.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Wikipedia — number coding in the Philippines
Claim 2 clm-3b74dfb6d8a2aac0 quantitative
cars whose plates end in 1 or 2 stay off Metro Manila roads on Mondays, 3 or 4 on Tuesdays, and so on to 9 or 0 on Fridays, banned from 7-10am and 5-8pm with a midday window
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The August 2022 rules as reported by GMA News and corroborated by the state news agency: plates ending 1-2 on Monday through 9-0 on Friday, banned 7-10am and 5-8pm, with a 10:01am to 4:59pm window.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. GMA News — MMDA to implement the expanded number coding scheme (11 Aug 2022)
Claim 3 clm-8f10b618b48bb678 quantitative
Expressways, motorcycles, public transport and, under the 2022 electric vehicle law, hybrid and electric cars are exempt
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
Manila Bulletin, 8 October 2025: Section 25 of Republic Act No. 11697 of 2022 exempts battery-electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles; the state news agency's account of the schedule carries the expressway exemption.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Manila Bulletin — no number coding for electric, hybrid and plug-in vehicles (8 Oct 2025)
Claim 4 clm-48d8b235eba7eaba descriptive
and cities inside the metro vary the window hours
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
Rappler's guide sets out how individual Metro Manila cities run their own variants of the MMDA scheme, differing on window hours and coverage.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rappler — a guide to Metro Manila's number coding schemes
Claim 5 clm-28befd34dc3cdcee quantitative
Enforcers do most of the catching: camera enforcement was restrained by the Supreme Court in 2022 and only partly restored to the MMDA in May 2025
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The restraining order was issued on 30 August 2022 on a transport-group petition; GMA News reports the Supreme Court spokesperson confirming it was lifted for the MMDA with camera enforcement resuming on 26 May 2025; Rappler's explainer establishes that number-coding violations are among the offences the cameras catch.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rappler — the Supreme Court partially lifts its order on camera enforcement
  2. GMA News — camera enforcement to resume for the MMDA (21 May 2025)
  3. Rappler — how camera enforcement works, and how to contest it
Claim 6 clm-e14a61a9aba87b9a descriptive
Thirty years in, a rationing rule is defined as much by its exemptions and its enforcement gaps as by the ban itself
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The exemptions have grown rather than shrunk — the 2022 electric vehicle law added hybrids and electric cars — while the scheme is routinely suspended (over Christmas and New Year 2025-26) and was nearly replaced by an odd-even scheme in 2025 that was cancelled when the EDSA rehabilitation was postponed. It was still in force in late July 2026.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Manila Bulletin — no number coding for electric, hybrid and plug-in vehicles (8 Oct 2025)
  2. GMA News — the MMDA cancels its odd-even scheme as the EDSA rehabilitation is postponed (1 June 2025)
  3. Inquirer — number coding suspended over the Christmas and New Year holidays
  4. GMA News — MMDA confirms number coding runs normally on SONA day (26 Jul 2026)
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-27-correction-run effective 2026-08-27 · created 2026-08-27

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:8373b933971379c33baac17a5e6ebec4e4ffad5f08fd0228a019bc2dc4c19312
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
6
of 6 claims mapped
10
source dossiers
9
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, with member city governments enforcing local variants
Actor types
regional-government, city-government
Funding model
public
Funding description
Not recorded
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

10 source dossiers

Wikipedia — number coding in the Philippines en.wikipedia.org · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-5f5220f75659d5b2
Publisher
Name not classified · en.wikipedia.org
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reference work, read 2026-08-27. Continuously revised, so no publication date is recorded (date: null). Origin: MMDA Regulation No. 95-001 signed 23 November 1995, strict implementation from 1 December 1995 after an experimental EDSA run in October 1995; the scheme was suspended metro-wide from 13 March 2020 until 30 November 2021.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
GMA News — MMDA to implement the expanded number coding scheme (11 Aug 2022) gmanetwork.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-18512b2d4ad0cc5f
Publisher
Name not classified · gmanetwork.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-08-11
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The rules in force today: plates ending 1-2 Monday, 3-4 Tuesday, 5-6 Wednesday, 7-8 Thursday, 9-0 Friday, banned 7-10am and 5-8pm; the scheme began 15 August 2022 with warnings only until 17 August.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Rappler — a guide to Metro Manila's number coding schemes rappler.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-d9ede21fe2e82eb4
Publisher
Name not classified · rappler.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-05-27
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Read in full 2026-08-27 through a text-extraction proxy, because rappler.com answers curl and WebFetch with HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive holds no capture; the proxy reports the publication time as 2025-05-27. Carries the variation this entry cites: 'the coding scheme is in effect from 7 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 8 pm, except in Makati City, where it is implemented from 10:01 am to 4:59 pm with no window hours.' Its main subject, the EDSA odd-even scheme, was cancelled — see the GMA report of 1 June 2025.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
GMA News — camera enforcement to resume for the MMDA (21 May 2025) gmanetwork.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-1e1bede70f7a1070
Publisher
Name not classified · gmanetwork.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-05-21
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The camera-enforcement question: a Supreme Court spokesperson confirms the 2022 restraining order was lifted only for the MMDA and only on major thoroughfares such as C5 and EDSA, while city ordinances remain restrained and the constitutional petition is undecided.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Rappler — the Supreme Court partially lifts its order on camera enforcement rappler.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-96570449bc642485
Publisher
Name not classified · rappler.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-05-20
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Read in full 2026-08-27 through a text-extraction proxy (rappler.com returns HTTP 403; no Internet Archive capture). Published 20 May 2025. The Supreme Court lifted the restraining order partially, for major roads named individually — Buendia, C5, Commonwealth, EDSA, E. Rodriguez, Katipunan, Marcos Highway, Quezon Avenue, Roxas Boulevard and West Avenue — on an urgent motion by the Solicitor General.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Rappler — how camera enforcement works, and how to contest it rappler.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-d7f1fdd9d4b9bcc2
Publisher
Name not classified · rappler.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-05-25
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Read in full 2026-08-27 through a text-extraction proxy (rappler.com returns HTTP 403; no Internet Archive capture). Published 25 May 2025. Enforcement resumed on 26 May 2025 on the listed radial and circumferential roads, and the piece sets out how a notice is issued and contested.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Manila Bulletin — no number coding for electric, hybrid and plug-in vehicles (8 Oct 2025) mb.com.ph · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-c1a2740fa74b918f
Publisher
Name not classified · mb.com.ph
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-10-08
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The exemption: Section 25 of Republic Act No. 11697 of 2022 exempts battery-electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and light electric vehicles from the scheme, reiterated by the energy department in October 2025.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
GMA News — the MMDA cancels its odd-even scheme as the EDSA rehabilitation is postponed (1 June 2025) gmanetwork.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-4aae64cf9c645aa2
Publisher
Name not classified · gmanetwork.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-06-01
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The 2025 near-replacement: an odd-even scheme was to supersede number coding on EDSA from 16 June 2025 during the road's rehabilitation, then was cancelled when the works were postponed; number coding continues.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Inquirer — number coding suspended over the Christmas and New Year holidays newsinfo.inquirer.net · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0f55ca0f4273cddc
Publisher
Name not classified · newsinfo.inquirer.net
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-12-22
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Read in full 2026-08-27 through a text-extraction proxy (inquirer.net returns HTTP 403 to curl); the article gives 'Mon, 22 Dec 2025' and an update at 4:05 p.m. the same day. Coding lifted 23-25 December 2025 and 29 December 2025 to 2 January 2026.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
GMA News — MMDA confirms number coding runs normally on SONA day (26 Jul 2026) gmanetwork.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-81f91b4550285bde
Publisher
Name not classified · gmanetwork.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2026-07-26
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-27
Dossier created
2026-08-27
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Currency check: the scheme is in force as of late July 2026, with the MMDA confirming it would run normally on the day of the president's address to Congress.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇮🇩 Ganjil-Genap: Jakarta's Odd-Even Plate Rationing · Jakarta Both ration plates by day; a peer-reviewed study found Jakarta's rule barely cuts pollution, and Manila has no impact figure at all. 🇨🇳 Beijing License Plate Lottery & Vehicle Quota System · Beijing Beijing rations the right to own a car and has the causal study to show it worked; Manila rations driving days and has no evaluation. 🇮🇷 Tehran Traffic Zone automated congestion charging · Tehran Tehran replaced odd-even with ANPR charging in 2018; Manila still rations by plate digit, its cameras restrained by the courts.

Ban half the cars: the licence-plate rationing family

Four cities that keep cars off the road by plate number — with four different enforcement designs and, until recently, almost no evidence that any of it cleans the air. The family's one robust rebound finding (drivers buying second cars) was measured in Mexico City and is imported everywhere else by analogy.

ProjectSinceStatusOutcomeEvidenceRun byCostHow it is enforced — and what the evidence says
Hoy No Circula: Mexico City's Plate-Based Driving RestrictionMexico City, 🇲🇽 1989 Live Ongoing Peer-reviewed City government, Regional government not public A hologram from the compulsory emissions test decides who is exempt; peer-reviewed evaluations find no cleaner air — drivers bought second cars instead.
Restriccion Vehicular: Santiago's Vintage-Tiered Plate RationingSantiago, 🇨🇱 1992 Live Ongoing Peer-reviewed National government, Regional government not public Tiered by vehicle vintage with an air-quality trigger adding digits — and a peer-reviewed evaluation that actually finds fewer car trips at peak.
Number Coding: Metro Manila's Plate-Based Driving BanManila, 🇵🇭 1995 Live Ongoing Media Regional government, City government not public Running since December 1995 without a single published effectiveness figure — every rebound claim about it is borrowed from Mexico City.
Ganjil-Genap: Jakarta's Odd-Even Plate RationingJakarta, 🇮🇩 2016 Live Ongoing Peer-reviewed City government, National government not public Camera-enforced through the ETLE plate-recognition network — and carries a peer-reviewed null result on air quality.

Explore the wider context

🚦 Asphalt or algorithms📖 Adaptive traffic signals📖 Automated speed enforcement (speed cameras)📖 Integrated command and control centre (ICCC)
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “Number Coding: Metro Manila's Plate-Based Driving Ban” — Manila, Philippines. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/manila-number-coding/ (last verified 2026-08-27). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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