Tags: Transportation
By Alexander Villafania
MANGALDAN, PANGASINAN – These three-wheeled, leg-powered vehicles must be the most ubiquitous mode of public transport in many provinces in the Philippines. In fact, the pedicab is even a preferred mode of transport for most residents in rural towns because it’s quiet, unlike motorcycles that are noisy and belch the smoke of burned gasoline.
A typical pedicab can take up to three passengers (two if they’re overweight) and travel up to 5 kilometers. Sometimes, passengers would have additional baggage placed at the back of the sidecar. Normally, a pedicab ride would cost between P3 to P5 per head, or higher depending on the distance traveled.
But in recent years, I noticed that some of the pedicabs in La Union and Pangasinan have jacked up the prices of their fares. Across many of these pedicab organizations, the minimum price has been set at P7 per head, just about the same price as the minimum fare of jeeps.
For instance, our town in Mangaldan, Pangasinan seems to have a booming pedicab business. A decade ago, there were no more than a hundred 100 pedicab owners. Today, the number has ballooned to about 500 and some have even formed their own groups. Nevertheless, the fare remains consistent at P7 per passenger.
My parents, as well as other neighbors, complain that this kind of pricing is unfair as the distance between the main poblacion and residential houses is less than 2 kilometers. “Why would I pay P7 for a pedicab ride when I can get home faster riding a jeep and pay the same amount?”
One of our family’s suki pedicab drivers, Mang Kado, explained that the fare hike has been going on for years especially with the cost of living increasing. “Cost of food has increased. It’s not even cheap to get our children to public schools. Matindi ang inflation.”
I was surprised that a 50-something year old, uneducated man was able to use the world “inflation” in his explanation relative to their economic state. Then again, it won’t be a surprise if he understands the meaning of an “economic crisis.”
Similar issues are happening in other parts of the country. But this is not just because the pedicab drivers are doing the fare hike but they are forced to by their respective municipalities. While it used to be that some towns allowed a laissez-faire treatment for pedicab drivers, now ordinances are putting keeping pedicab drivers in line.
An ordinance in San Carlos City in Pangasinan dictates minimum requirements for anyone to enter into a pedicab business. Caloocan City, meanwhile, set the minimum fare at P6.50 four years ago. Some places in Sta. Mesa have also increased the pedicab fare.
Perhaps the main reason for the price set by the local government is to control unfair pricing of pedicab drivers and also to discourage the increase in the number of pedicab owners who are, in fact, causing traffic in certain areas. Like in the De La Salle University campus area in Manila where waiting drivers clog a portion of Taft Avenue.
At any rate, there are no longer really cheap modes of transportation in the Philippines because pedicab drivers set prices almost as near as jeeps – to think that the distance to one’s destination is barely a kilometer. But trying to complain about it won’t do as much. Perhaps walking would be better than taking a pedicab – unless it’s hot or raining.
Advertising Agribusiness Agriculture Airline Industry Aquaculture Automobiles Banking Car Accessories consumer elec Consumer Electronics Consumer Goods and Concerns Cooperatives Cottage Industries Death Entrepreneurship Filipinos Abroad Food Establishments Groceries and Shopping Centers Handicraft Handicrafts hardware Hardware Solutions Horticulture Internet Livelihood Programs Malls Mass Media and Communications Mobile Phone Industry OFWs Outsourcing Real Estate Software Solutions technology Technology Industry teleco Telecommunications Tourism Transportation Vermiculture Wholesale and Retail
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck and Luke Morton requires Flash Player 9 or better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
