Tricycle drivers suffer losses due to Covid-19

By Mark A. Gomez

Thousands of tricycle drivers in Naga City and Camarines Sur are suffering from income losses due to the imposition of community quarantine restrictions on the movement of people due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Domingo Forlaje, general manager of Pistton Development and Multipurpose Transfort Cooperative, said trike drivers in the city and province are severely suffering from loss of income due to restrictions and policies brought about by the pandemic.

According to him, most of their members who are tricycle drivers have already stop driving their tricycles and instead work as construction worker and street vendors to feed their families.

The very minimal number of passengers due to the restrictions on the movement of people due to the pandemic have resulted to almost 50 percent loss in the income of their members.

Pistton operates 21 units of tricycles, which prior to the pandemic, earn a total of P 16,000 monthly. Now because of Covid-19, we only earn P8,000 monthly. Our active members also decreased from 1,405 to 200 as of now, Forlaje said.

He said before the pandemic, there were about 150 tricycle drivers working daily, now there are only 35 to 40 drivers who are serving passengers. Before, our 21 tricycle units were all operating daily, now, five to six units daily are idle and without any income.

Tricycle drivers who used to work on eight hours per shift could no longer do so for lack of passengers.

Forlaje also urged traffic enforcers to be more lenient and considerate in the implementation of traffic rules especially during this pandemic.