By Gabriela Baron
The National Confederation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (NACTODAP) assured on Tuesday that there will be no tricycle fare hike despite the easing of lockdown.
NACTODAP President Ariel Lim, in an interview over DZMM, said that raising tricycle fare during the pandemic would be unfair to their passengers.
"Hindi po namin gusto magtaas ng pamasahe. Nagkasundo po kaming mga federation ng bawat bayan na kung maaari, wag pong magtaas ng pamasahe dahil kawawa naman po yung mga pasahero natin dahil hindi lang naman kami yung tinamaan, kung di pati rin naman yung aming mga kapitbahay," Lim added.
(We do not want to raise fares. We have agreed with the federations of each town that if possible, we will not be raising fares because our passengers, just like us, have also been hit by the crisis.)
"Kalimitan po ng mga sumasakay sa amin, kung hindi nagtatrabaho rin lang sa isang factory o kung saan, e mga talagang hindi naman kayayaman. Dahil kung may pera ho yan, hindi po magta-tricycle. Magkakaroon po ng sariling motor sila," he said.
(Most of our passengers work in factories or elsewhere, they are not really wealthy. Because if they were, they will no longer ride tricycles. They will just buy their own motorcycles.)
Tricycles are now allowed to ply the streets in some areas of Metro Manila as it shifted from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ). Drivers are also required to wear masks and to regularly disinfect their tricycles.
The cities of Marikina, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Navotas, Quezon, and Pasig are among the local governments that allowed tricycle operations to resume under MECQ.