A trike driver makes the big switch from stickers to metal plates. —contributed photo
The Valenzuela City government has started distributing a second license plate to around 8,000 tricycle drivers to tell them apart from “colorum” vehicles.
The license plate which contains the tricycle’s body number will replace the stickers issued to legitimate tricycle operators, according to the Valenzuela City Transportation Office (VCTO).
The body number plates will be required of all members of tricycle operators and drivers association (Toda) groups operating in the city, it said.
On Wednesday, 92 members of the Bilog Obando Villa Toda became the first recipients of the metal plates, along with 10 members of the Polo Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association and 19 members of the Malanday Central Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association.
Leonardo Alparo, a board member of Bilog Obando Villa Toda, said he was in favor of the shift to metal plates from stickers.
“It’s better because it’s more durable. With stickers, they tear up easily since they usually get wet,” he told the Inquirer.
Other tricycle drivers, however, said it would have been better if the plates were made of stainless steel because metal plates were prone to scratches and eventually become unreadable.
The VCTO first issued the metal plates to pedicabs authorized to operate in the city.