Last week, tricycle operators and drivers from Bato and San Andres conducted a motorcade from the boulevard to the provincial capitol in Virac.
They were protesting the grant by the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regional office of a provisional authority to Cat Island Express, a subsidiary of Bicol Isarog Transport System, Inc., to ply its four routes using eight minibuses.
Three days earlier, LTFRB Regional Director Joel Defeo had told the TODA officers and members that complaints from commuters about the high tricycle fares and the need to provide better, safer and cheaper transport services to the public.
The LTFRB Bicol chief underscored that under the law, tricycles are not allowed to operate on national roads and their presence on said roads now is only due to tolerance or accommodation.
A social media post, purportedly from a tricycle driver lamenting how his daily income has shrunk from the time the Cat Island Express buses began operating, gained many views from netizens.
But overall, the public has welcomed the operation of the minibuses as it saved parents as much as half of what their children used to pay in tricycle fares in travelling to the Catanduanes State University.
For example, as one working father pointed out, his daughter used to pay P40 for a ride from Bato to the Virac Sports Center and another P20 to the university, a total of P120 daily for five days.
Today, the student pays only a maximum of P30 for the bus ride over the same route, with the P30 saved enough to buy a cheap viand for lunch.
| ROUTE | Triycle | Van | Cat Island Express |
| Bato to Virac | P50 | P20 | |
| San Andres to Virac | P60 | P40 | |
| Pandan/Caramoran to Virac | P200 | P125 | |
| Baras to Virac | P70 | P50 | |
| Gigmoto to Virac | P100 | P100 | |
| Viga-Payo-Bagamanoc to Virac | P150 | P120 | |
| Virac Downtown to CatSU | P20 | P10 |
Given the likelihood that the LTFRB will favorably grant the bus company’s application for a franchise in Catanduanes routes, there is no choice for local tricycle drivers and operators but to embrace change, as Dir. Defeo urged.
The same goes to public utility vans using the same routes.
PUV operators in the provinces have been given by the national government until the end of the year within which to consolidate themselves into transport cooperatives.
So far, six transport cooperatives have been organized and by next year they would be given another deadline to acquire modern jeepneys through a loan from a government bank.
Like the tricycles-for-hire, they have no choice but to comply with the government’s wishes or leave the transport business for good.
It should be pointed out that the exchange of opinions on the issue on social media has not engaged majority of the riding public, who have made their choice by deciding with their pockets or whatever money it contains.
While the operation of the minibus company is still in its relative infancy (it has yet to add more units after running its eight buses almost empty of passengers for a whole month), the affected transport sectors should hasten to consider and implement their most viable options to stay alive in the business.
There is no time to waste, as the new kid on the block has deep pockets and keen to expand its reach in the 11 towns.