Boracay tricycle fare hiked

ILOILO CITY — Soaring oil prices have not spared the world-famous Boracay Island.

Drivers of tricycles, the main mode of transportation on the island, will be charging a minimum fare of P10, an increase of P3 from the old rate, under a resolution approved by the municipal council of Malay on April 12.

Around 800 tricycles ply the 1,032-hectare island.

The council noted that members of the Boracay Land Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BLTMPC), who included tricycle operators and drivers, were having difficulty coping with the continued increases in the prices of fuel products, spare parts and maintenance.

Councilor Rowen Aguirre, chairman of the committee on laws and ordinances, said on Monday that some of the tricycle drivers had already started charging more after availing themselves of the new fare matrix.

The municipal council also approved an increase in tricycle fare in Boracay in 2009 due to high fuel prices, but reduced it when prices dropped. The new rates will be rolled back once the oil prices are back to around P40 per liter, he said. /INQUIRER