MMDA bans tricycles, pedicabs on major roads

MANILA, Philippines - Alarmed by the sudden “proliferation” of tricycles and pedicabs – bicycles with sidecars – along busy streets, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Oscar Inocentes ordered yesterday the re-implementation of a 1990 Metro Manila Council (MMC) ordinance prohibiting such vehicles from plying major roads.

Meeting with top MMDA officials, Inocentes ordered the agency’s Traffic Operations Center (TOC) to form teams that would arrest pedicab and tricycle drivers who operate outside of their franchise routes.

He also ordered the MMDA-TOC to impound all tricycles and pedicabs seen on highways and other major roads.

“We will have them impounded for 30 days. They know that they are banned from driving along major thoroughfares. If we have to be harsh on them, then so be it, if this is the only way to ensure their safety,” Inocentes said.

MMC Ordinance No. 6, said Inocentes, was passed by the 17 Metro Manila mayors to protect the lives of not only the pedicab and tricycle drivers but also their passengers. The MMC is the governing and policy-making body of the MMDA.

“The franchise their local government granted to them limits their operation within the local tertiary roads and subdivision roads,” he said.

The MMDA chief said he has personally seen many tricycles operating in some parts of EDSA, Commonwealth Avenue, and Katipunan Avenue. These vehicles not only slow down traffic but also put both the drivers and the passengers in unnecessary danger.

Inocentes said the TOC must be strict in implementing the ban even if some local government units allow them to ply such routes. “We have an MMC ordinance and we have to enforce it. We will not honor the LGUs’ moratorium allowing these pedicabs and tricycles outside their franchise routes,” he said.

MMC Ordinance No. 6, passed during the term of then MMDA chairman Jejomar Binay, imposes a P300 fine or a 10-day imprisonment for violators.