BUENAVISTA, Guimaras, Feb. 18 (PNA) — A zoning ordinance prohibiting tricycles-for-hire from picking up passengers indiscriminately was enforced on Tuesday in this municipality.
This means beginning Feb. 17, all tricycles as well as “habal-“habal” or motorcycles used also for public transport will be restricted to village roads through an ordinance wherein it is stipulated that “only public utility jeepneys (PUJ) can lawfully take in passengers starting from the town proper and into the direction of the Buenavista Wharf, and vice-versa. Violators will be arrested and penalized.”
The first day of the ordinance implementation netted 15 offenders who were slapped with penalties, Buenavista police station Chief Ethan Estaya said.
Some of those flagged down included motorcycle riders wearing no helmets, and on further inspection were found without the necessary documents like driver’s license and certificates of registration.
Subsequently, fines were also imposed against them, Estaya said.
The zoning law came about after jeepney operators complained that tricycles and motorcycles were giving them stiff competition, resulting in lower earnings as the latter were aggressively picking up passengers along routes designated for the former by LTFRB. (PNA)