If I remember it right, it was sometime in 2005 when the city government of Pasay and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) decided that a one-way traffic scheme North Bound (NB) will be implemented along the West Service Road from Kalayaan Road (near Merville Exit) all the way to Sales Bridge (leading to Villamor Air Base and Fort Bonifacio) every morning from 0600H to 1000H, Monday to Friday. Poor motorists and commuters from Magallanes/Nichols area going to Merville and West Service Road (South Bound – SB) do not have the choice, but to use the SLEX Merville Exit and pay the harsh toll fee of PHP30 per entry. It is harsh, because the distance from the Nichols Toll Plaza up to the Merville Exit is just around a kilometer; from Nichols Toll Plaza up to Bicutan Exit is around 3.5 kilometers: both exits charging the same rate.
The thing is, I do not know exactly what was the reason behind for making the one-way scheme along the West Service Road? It only favors those who are living at the Merville Subdivision (and nearby posh villages) and totally is against the welfare of the silent majority. If the intention of whoever enacted this traffic scheme is to lighten up the traffic leading to the Sales Bridge during days of work/school, why is it that the ramp leading to the West Service Road is also closed on holidays and even at times, during weekends?
Doesn’t this one-way scheme favors only the operators of the Merville Exit?
In less than a month’s time, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) will be implementing the imposition of the 12% VAT on all toll fees all around the country. Isn’t it time for the perpetrators of the one-way scheme along West Service Road review it’s effectivity, otherwise permanently discontinue this nuisance.