After just one week of implementing the “No Plate, No Travel” policy for tricycle drivers in Quezon City, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the city local government unit has impounded a total of 101 tricycles.
Leaders and members of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Associations (TODAs) in Quezon City expressed gratitude to the LTO for addressing their concerns. Meanwhile, LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II vowed to continue implementing the policy.
LTO, QC LGU Impound 101 Tricycles in a Week
Data from the LTO shows that since July 1, 2024 — a total of 101 tricycles have been impounded, whereas 123 tricycle drivers have been issued with traffic violation tickets.
“Nagpapasalamat ako sa mga TODA leaders and members sa kanilang tiwala at suporta sa LTO (I would like to thank TODA leaders and members for their trust and support to the LTO),” Asst. Sec. Mendoza said, as cited in a Facebook post by Land Transportation Office – Philippines.
“Ito naman ay pagtupad ko sa aking binitawang pangako noong tayo ay mag-usap-usap na handang proteksyunan ng inyong LTO at ng DOTr sa pamumuno ni Secretary Jaime J. Bautista ang mga lehitimong tricycle operators and drivers na lumalaban ng patas (This is a fulfillment of my promise in our meeting that the LTO and DOTr, led by Secretary Jaime J. Bautista, are ready to protect legitimate operators and drivers who are working fairly),” he explained.
The “No Plate, No Travel” policy is a form of campaign against colorum tricycles, since only legitimate tricycles had been given license plates after the LTO addressed the backlog for all legitimate Quezon City tricycles several months ago.
According to Asst. Sec. Mendoza, the operation aimed to protect legitimate tricycle operators and drivers who had been complaining of loss of income from unregistered tricycles.
“Hindi po tayo nanggigipit dito. Nilalagay lang po natin sa tama ang lahat dahil kawawa ang mga tricycle operators and drivers na namamasada ng patas at sumusunod sa regulasyon (We are not harassing here. We are simply correcting the situation for the sake of tricycle operators and drivers who are operating fairly and following the regulations),” the LTO Chief explained.
“Hindi po natin papayagan na patuloy na perwisyuhin ng mga colorum operators na ito ang mga lehitimong tricycle drivers at operators (We will not allow colorum operators to take advantage of legitimate tricycle drivers and operators),” he added.
Final Thoughts
The implementation of the “No Plate, No Travel” policy in Quezon City is considered as a pilot test; soon, the policy will be implemented in the whole country.
Notably, the latest operation in Quezon City has already gained positive results for legitimate tricycle drivers. TODA members and leaders have reported that their daily income has increased by up to 50 percent since the policy was implemented on July 1st.