By Mae Singuay

Starting today, the Bacolod City Task Force Kontra Colorum Tricycle begins apprehending tricycles with no franchises.

“There is a need for an intensive campaign against colorum tricycles,” Mayor Alfredo Benitez said.

Executive Order No. 3-2023 issued on February 6, created the task force to address the proliferation of illegal tricycles amid the increasing number of traffic accidents involving these colorums.

Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Transportation and Traffic chairman Councilor Al Victor Espino was designated as the chairperson of the task force.

Espino said there were about 15,000 tricycles in the city, and most of them had no franchises.

Moreover, City Ordinance (CO) No. 650, amended by COs 871 and 906, sets the number of allowed franchises for each barangay and tricycle association in the entire city.

However, according to the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), as of February 16, only 3,200 have renewed franchises out of more than 5,000 with existing franchises.

BPLO head Stela Rose Rayos said the franchise expires in three years, but tricycle operators must secure a mayor’s permit annually.

Other members of the task force include the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office, the Traffic Management Unit of the Bacolod City Police Office, the City Engineering Office, the BPLO, and representatives of tricycle associations as endorsed by the Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association./MS, WDJ