LTO goes after picky cab drivers, illegal motorcycle taxi riders

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II | PHOTO: Official website of LTO / lto.gov.ph

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has gone tougher against choosy and contracting cab drivers or those who insist on charging a fixed fare instead of using a taxi meter, as well as illegal motorcycle taxis during the holiday rush.

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II has ordered the agency’s Law Enforcement Service to deploy its personnel to malls and other usual places of convergence in Metro Manila and other urban areas in the country to run after colorum vehicles and public taxi drivers who would refuse to carry passengers. Colorum vehicles are those without proper authority from transport regulators, particularly the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), to ply on the road.

Called “Oplan Pasaway,” Mendoza said the operation was already cleared by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista and coordinated with LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III.

Mendoza led an operation at SM City North Edsa in Quezon City during the Wednesday night rush hour that led to the apprehension of 18 taxi drivers and two habal-habal (private motorcycles without permits to operate as motorcycle taxis) riders for refusing to carry passengers if they would not agree to their payment demand.

During the operation, some of the taxi drivers cited excuses to be spared from apprehension but Mendoza said there was no excuse for violating the law because those who would be affected were law-abiding taxi drivers and passengers who just wanted to go home early and comfortably. The most common excuse drivers give is that they are already going home and the passengers’ destination is out of the way.

Of those apprehended, two of the taxi drivers failed to present a valid franchise to operate, while the nine others were caught in the act of refusing to accommodate passengers.

Citing complaints from the passengers, Mendoza said some taxi drivers would even refuse to have a family with babies and small children board their taxi, despite the bad weather conditions, unless they would agree to the price set by the driver.

“I have been a victim myself of these taxi drivers. That’s why I commit to address this issue once and for all,” the LTO official added.

Upsurge of complaints

According to Mendoza, there has always been an upsurge of complaints against taxi drivers who refuse to carry passengers during the Christmas season.

“They refuse to pick up passengers if they do not agree with the contracted fare. This is a violation of their franchise,” Mendoza said.

“With the surge of passengers this Christmas season, it is also the time when colorum vehicles come up. So I ordered our personnel to also go after them,” he added.

In his order to LTO-Law Enforcement Service Director Francis Almora, Mendoza said there should be a sufficient number of LTO enforcers deployed even after office hours, especially during nighttime when the number of passengers increases.

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