Dumaguete Police Chief Scolds Guilty Trike Drivers
The Dumaguete City Police Officers scolded the different trike drivers that attended the meeting at the Capitol’s old session hall last Monday, October 08, 2018. Officers say that these drivers need to get their acts together before the law starts. LTO Chief to file a case against netizen for “personal attacked”.
Trike Drivers Scolded by Chief
Dumaguete City Police Chief, Supt. Jonathan Pineda referred tricycle drivers for overcharging their passengers, both locals and tourists; those who refuse to bring passengers to their destination with excuses such as “alkanse” (deficit) in income due to longer routes with the one-way traffic schemes; and even those who are discourteous and arrogant. He added that some foreigners prefer walking to their destinations to riding tricycles because of “unfriendly” drivers.
This is something that needs to be addressed, especially because Dumaguete has been tagged as the best retirement place in the world,” Pineda said.
The meeting was led by Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo who addressed traffic concerns in Dumaguete City and the nearby towns of Sibulan, Bacong, and Valencia. One of the topics discussed was the law prohibiting tricycles from traversing the national highways, as well as the prescribed number of passengers allowed per tricycle.
Motorcab & Trike Drivers Answers
During the meeting, transport group representatives, headed by Edmar Santos of the Federation of Dumaguete Motorcab Operators and Drivers Association (FeDuMCODA) raised their concerns on both matters. They added that with the rising cost of fuel, the recent fare hike in the city and the additional Php 1.00 for every km. thereafter are not enough. They said they are losing passengers fast because many people have begun owning single unit motorcycles to save on tricycle fare.
Edmar Santos of FeDuMCODA, while admitting that some drivers are indeed rude, insisted that there are instances when a passenger offers to pay more for a ride to a certain destination, much higher than the point-to-point prescribed fare of the city.
We know we have violated some of the rules, like the basic fare rate,” he said, promising to meet with their group members to help correct wrong practices.
LTO-Dumaguete Chief to File a case
Aside from the concerns of the trike drivers in Dumaguete, the issue of LTO Chief being personally attacked online also made an impact on the locals. With the Helmet Law being the big topic around for weeks, people are both irritated and angry to the officers because of this national law.
The chief of the Land Transportation Office (LTO)-Dumaguete District Office in Dumaguete City mulls the filing of a formal complaint against a netizen who posted “personal affronts” against her on social media.
There are a lot of BAD trike drivers here: refusing to take people at standard fare, stopping for passenger and then refusing when route is not profitable enough, asking for more than standard fare: “how much you pay?”. Rude and angry drivers. Many drivers know little or nothing about the City and where things are located. I have had drunk drivers pick me up, and drivers high on Shabu. I have had drivers pick me up that had little or no brakes or bad suspension. The whole trike thing is a MESS in Dumaguete. No wonder people are buying their own vehicles to avoid them.