Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday expressed reservations on the proposal of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to ban the use of for-hire tricycles as school shuttles.
“LTFRB should have consulted the local government units first before implementing the ban since, in Quezon City, for example, this is already covered by a local ordinance designed to address a localized issue,” she said.
Compared to school bus services, Belmonte reasoned that tricycle fares are cheaper and that the three-wheeled vehicles are more practical to use as school shuttles since they also provide tricycle drivers with extra income.
“I understand that LTFRB wants to ban tricycle school service. But that is not the issue. The issue here is the overloading and colorum,” she said.
“Tricycle [regulation] is under the local government unit. And then, the fare is much lower. In the first place, a school bus cannot pass through a small alley,” the vice mayor added.
According to Belmonte, members of several local tricycle drivers and operators’ associations affected by the LTFRB’s campaign have already raised the issue.
In 2014, the city council passed Ordinance No. SP-2337-2014 or “The Quezon City Tricycle Management Code of 2014” that comprehensively addresses the aspects of tricycle operations, regulations, and social protection for the local tricycle sector.