(The question came into fore once again after one of the judges in the recently-concluded National Secondary Schools Press Conference, billeted in a hostel in Banilad, was charged by a pedicab driver P70 going to Robinsons (less than one kilometer away) and P50 back to her hotel by another driver. The next day, this judge was charged P30 from her hotel to the Macias Sports Center. The following answers were selected from the responses on social media)
A number of years back, we took a family vacation to Bohol, and parked our car at Obdulla Hotel. When we returned after a week, I told my family to wait at the port while I took a tricycle to pick up the car. Every tricycle I tried to hire wanted P200 to take me [to the corner of PNB]. Finally, I got a tricycle to take me for a P100, but when we got there, I refused to pay the P100 and gave him P20. He fumed and I told him if he had a complaint, he could call the police and file a complaint. I asked the security guard to call the police and in minutes, there was a patrol car. Can you imagine what happened next? Even better, I asked the tricycle driver to pay me P100 or I will file a complaint and he will lose his franchise. — Ricky Soler, tourism service provider, Bais City
[Mayor Remollo tried that during his first term. He prohibited tricycles from Sibulan to enter Dumaguete. Sibulan also prohibited Dumaguete tricycles from taking passengers to the airport. It was not convenient to the passengers but the law is the law.]
Isumbong na sa TMO! —Victor Camion, broadcaster
Cancel their permits, para tagam! —Cidni Mapa, businessman, Tanjay City
That’s also what my guests here in New York complained about there in Dumaguete. There are no clear fares in Dumaguete. So I advised them not to take the pedicabs and just walk. –-Jufer Villanueva, New York City
I don’t know why tricycle fares here in Dumaguete have gone from silly to utterly ridiculous. Tricycle drivers have gotten away with this unethical behavior for too long and it has to stop. I think the only way to do this is do away with these so-called roving tricycles. Put them on fixed routes so they will function as point-to-point conveyance. No more haggling on fare price and more importantly, no more refusal to convey passengers. There is a phone number you can supposedly call to complain. It was already implemented a few weeks back. At the very least, one cellphone number is needed so we can text anytime. I would really want to sit down and talk with our traffic czar, Councilor Allan Cordova, about this problem. Mea culpa for not pursuing it harder. The problem is really getting worse. —Jojo Monasterial, businessman
Maybe we should post the rates inside the vehicles that is visible to the passenger? Bring back also [requirement of posting] the drivers’ franchise ID that is also visible to passengers. It used to be this way before, I don’t know why it was not always implemented. Let’s do our part as citizens of our country: to criticize and also help in finding solutions. Let us be productive and not toxic. I think an On-air program can also be done so whoever has valid questions can directly ask the agency concerned.) —Adrian Dionaldo, businessman
People return to Puerto Princesa in Palawan because it is tourist-friendly in terms of the prices at the market, the stores, the transportation. Hopefully, that can be done in Dumaguete. Hopefully, they can be educated on that and hopefully, they will cooperate. Hindi yung “ija-ija”. —Raul Dancel, Ilocos Norte
Are they really Tourist-Certified or Tulis-Certified pedicab drivers? Two teachers from Bulacan also attending the national conference were charged P150 each from the airport to HFGM School in Banilad. After dropping them off, the driver sped off, no one was able to get his plate number. —Richli Aves
The drivers always tell me that the fare from the airport to Piapi is P250, sometimes P300 or even P1,000 depending on my outfit. If I’m wearing blazer, the fare suddenly increases. I always tell them not to overcharge. I wish government would put a BIG sign with the rates to empower the passengers. A visible sign with the rates might prevent drivers from overcharging. Often, I just walk to the highway because I get irritated with the charges. I would be happy to donate a signboard so we can fix the problem ASAP. Together, we can solve simple problems. —Atty. Golda Benjamin, SU College of Law
Many drivers follow the standard rate. Those who don’t must be reported. Details (sidecar#, etc) have to be given to the TMO and they will be penalized. —Jacqueline Veloso-Antonio, City Tourism Officer
This is a very simple, very feasible solution. Include also a number where people can report abuses. —Maru Rodriguez, directress, Southdale Integrated School
It’s so sad! There were previous pronouncements from City Hall officials that these drivers had been warned because of all the national events that were held here since last year and yet…. Makaulaw ta kaayo! Walay disiplina! —Judy Flores-Partlow, Bureau Chief, Philippines News Agency
Suspensions [from driving] will have to be imposed until they learn their lesson. I also doubt if the politicians have the political will to enforce it since they have to maintain their posts. —Joseph Floyd Maglangit
A regulatory agency should post a tariff rate with vehicle type and destination so that passengers will be guided accordingly. The drivers should show this to the passengers before the engagement. —Danny Catigtig, engineering consultant
That’s so sad to hear. In the 1990s, those horror stories were unheard of. Dumaguete trike drivers were among the most honest in the country. As to the question “how”, [the answer is] strict enforcement, iron fist, if necessary by the local government. That’s the only way to do it. —Bernard Supetran, travel writer
Tagbilaran has government personnel in their pier to 1) welcome guests, 2) announce the transportation fares, 3) announce the no-smoking policy…. They also announce with leaflets about contact numbers for the tourism office, the PNP, TMO and the Mayor’s Office. —Paultom Paras, provincial sports director
There will always be cheaters but the City can try giving accreditation to clean cabs/trikes and honest drivers as Visitors’ Cab… same as tourist police. —Jerry Miraflor, banker
They should be imposed high penalties. But there’s also a need to regulate the enforcers first. —Harry Jones delos Santos, businessman
City government should create a fare matrix for pedicab drivers. This should be posted in the unit for commuters to see. Commuters should report if the matrix is not being followed. —Michael Reyes, manager, SG Bank
It would be nice if the local government, and possibly the Tourism Office and the Traffic Management Office, conducted a no-nonsense lecture for the drivers regarding charging exorbitant fees. This practice does not bode well for the City of Gentle People. Someone should come up with an official tariff charge chart, and require all drivers to post this up front. —Linda Banas-Alvarez
It’s not enough that we have a fare matrix. Those caught overcharging must be apprehended, and their franchises revoked. Disiplina ang kailangan! It’s similar to the helmet policy. Only in Dumaguete where the motor drivers and riders are NOT required to wear helmets. —Romeo Yumol, Zamboanga City
Politicians look at these drivers as pawns for office. I got fleeced on my recent visit to Dumaguete. Airport to downtown was P200. I couldn’t do anything but be taken for a ride. —Patrick Jerome Guasa, Dumaguete resident working in Davao City
Attention Dumaguete Tourism Office: Why don’t you provide arriving passengers without rides with free rides from the airport to their hotels? You have a fleet of vans in the City doing nothing. You can also ban motorcabs from picking up passengers from the airport. In the first place, motorcabs from Dumaguete are not allowed to ply in Sibulan, and motorcabs from Sibulan are not allowed to ply in Dumaguete. That will finally solve the problem of illegal rates charged by these drivers. —Atty. Nehemias Vidal
[When drivers overcharge, just] say ‘no’. Of course, trike drivers are going to try and make every peso that they can – and have long been squeezing foreigners with far higher prices than for Filipinos (as well as many others). But the way you can combat that is by saying no, and waiting for the next trike. If people know what a standard fare should be, then they can simply not use that trike and give their business to another driver. I also see a lot of people walk up to the highway to get a trike with a reasonable rate. —Norman Schriever
Let’s have uber pedicabs or metered pedicabs. It would be a good idea, too, that the drivers have a uniform. —Ana Patrice Ceniza-Montebon
There’s only one solution to stop overcharging: the Pedi-Grab app which the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce & Industry is now working on since last year with IT team of Foundation University. We have to scale up otherwise, we will be left behind by other cities. —Edward Du, regional president, Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry
In Laoag, Ilocos Norte, they have pedicab stations in designated areas where drivers patiently wait for their turn in getting passengers. They are not allowed to refuse passengers. More so, the fare prices are the same. They cannot jack up their rates even when demand for them is high. —Anale Aves-Dancel, food caterer
The pedicab drivers picking up passengers at the pier are worse because they pick and choose their passengers. They will refuse you especially when you are by yourself. They will also refuse you a ride unless you offer to pay P20 from the pier to Moon Cafe along Silliman Ave. But then again, he will drop you off at Blue Monkey Bar at the corner of the boulevard and Silliman Ave. because there’s a no-entry sign to Silliman Ave. The pedicab drivers in Dumaguete are very choosy, moreso when it rains. Of course, there are still some good ones who would even directly take you in first then ask for your destination. With that kind of driver, I don’t mind automatically paying P20 even if it’s just a short ride; they even offer to give back change. —Jerauld Villaverde, civil engineer
Doing something on the tricycle side is one thing, monitoring LTO is another. I reported a tricycle once in their office, the following day, I saw the same driver plying Dumaguete. I thought the case was still ongoing yet the driver was back on the road that soon. —Leonidas Canete, assistant professor, SU College of Business Administration
Coordination between the national/local secretariat of these events should be a must. In the pre-registration and event announcements, organizers shall endeavor to place in the event kit contact numbers and rates [of public transportation]. If the Tourism Offie is already aware that there is an event in the City, I hope they would be the ones to reach out to the organizers. They should not wait for the organizers to go to their office. At the end of the day, the reputation of the City is at stake. —Adolf Aguilar, ICT specialist
Tricycle fares are regulated by the City Council through an ordinance. The fare rates of tricycles must be posted inside the tricycles to avoid drivers from overcharging their passengers. By law, tricycles can only operate within the territorial jurisdiction of the city or municipality, hence, it is illegal for them to ferry passengers outside the city. However, some LGUs are lenient in implementing this law due to the necessity of passengers. —Lyndon Jo, businessman, Siquijor
How about the posting of rates at certain points (like the airport) informing passengers how much from there to other points? Hotels can also do that (from this hotel to Robinsons this much, to Macias Sports Centre this much, etc). This started because drivers at the airport would usually say Ikaw na ang bahala and so rates were negotiable. Was there ever a fixed rate for fares from the airport to other parts of the City? Isn’t there a fixed rate to compute by (so much for so many kilometres and then so much thereafter?) — Prof. Ludendorffo Decenteceo, UP Diliman
The problem on regulations and all other concerns will remain and continuously worsen if Dumaguete City, Sibulan, Valencia, Bacong, or even as far Dauin and San Jose will not convene and plan together as Metro Dumaguete (whatever you wish to call it). Dumaguete City alone, nor any LGU, cannot plan to develop on its own in isolation. For instance, if the City so desires, it cannot ideally establish two separate south and north terminals or a new, fast and -environment friendly public transport system within the city alone but it should cover as far as Dauin in the south, and San Jose in the north. The Local Government Code encourages LGUs to “pull these resources together”. —Lito Bitoon, retired public servant
Time to use the e-Trike with swipe cards. —Des Tilos Jr., information officer, Valencia
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