Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Celebrated fiction author Dan Brown, in his latest novel, The Inferno,  described Manila as the ‘Gates of Hell,’ mostly because of the nightmarish traffic that’s an everyday occurence in this Philippine metropolis.

The Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP), commonly called number coding is a road space rationing program in the Philippines that aims to reduce traffic congestion, in particular during peak hours, by restricting the types of vehicles that can use major public roads based on the final digit of the vehicle’s license plate.

Everyone knows the number coding is grossly ineffective. So, in a radical move to try to finally end Manila’s daily traffic gridlock, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) today announced a new traffic control system not based on numbers but rather on colors – the colors of the rainbow.

Here is how it works:

• Vehicles colored RED will be banned from Manila streets on Mondays
• Vehicles colored ORANGE will be banned on Tuesdays
• Vehicles colored YELLOW will be banned on Wednesdays
• Vehicles colored GREEN will be banned on Thursdays
• Vehicles colored BLUE will be banned on Fridays
• Vehicles colored INDIGO will be banned on Saturdays
• Vehicles colored VIOLET will be banned on Sundays
• The ban is not imposed on national holidays

‘What if a vehicle has ALL the colors of the rainbow, ‘ The Adobo Chronicles asked the MMDA. Its response:  rainbow-colored vehicles will be exempt from the ban. 

Immediately after the announcement, Kia Philippines, the local franchise of the South Korean car manufacturer, said that beginning with its 2015 models, rainbow-colored cars will be available to its customers for a small surcharge.