Panabo City to regulate tricycle production

DAVAO CITY – The Panabo City Council is crafting an ordinance that would regulate the fabrication of tricycle sidecars, in hopes of reducing the amount of colorum tricycles plying the streets.

The new ordinance is intended to require all tricycles to have business and franchise permits, in accordance with the city's traffic code, which took effect last June.

Transportation Committee chair Datu Ariel S. Macla said the city government should focus on fabricators around the city, which is located about an hour from Davao City's northern boundary.

According to Macla, the uncontrolled production of tricycle sidecars was one of the causes of the increasing number of colorum tricycles in the city.

In his privilege speech, Datu Macla said that there were around 10 fabricators in the city, and based on their research, these shops can produce a minimum of five sidecar units and can even reach up to 10 units a year.

“Given these numbers, the establishments may be collectively producing around 50 to 60 units every year. And none of these would mind halting their fabrication, as they are earning a very good payment from their customers, amounting to R35,000 to R55,000 per sidecar unit,” Macla said.

He further stressed that having additional units would contribute to the traffic congestion in the city, thus a prompt course of action must be taken to improve the traffic situation in the city.

To resolve the issue and study the proposed regulation, a joint committee was formed composed of the Committee on Transportation and Energy, and Committee on Tourism, Trade & Industry, and Socio-cultural chaired by Councilor Dizon P. Namuag.

At present, the Traffic Management Unit (TMU) under the Peace and Order Section of the City Mayor’s Office continues to apprehend colorum drivers and other traffic violators. Since the implementation of the Revised Traffic Code last June, the TMU has apprehended 93 colorum drivers.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) authorized a team from the TMU last July 25 to be its deputized agents, the Panabo City Information Office said.