Nearly 4k tricycle drivers in QC receive fuel subsidy

At least 3,982 registered tricycle operators and drivers' association (TODA) members in Quezon City received fuel vouchers to help them cope with the soaring prices of petroleum products.

Mayor Joy Belmonte handed out P500 fuel vouchers to the first batch of TODA members on Tuesday.

“While we are waiting for the fuel subsidy promised by the national government, we recognize the urgent need to help one of the most vital transportation sectors in our city,” she said.

The distribution of fuel vouchers will continue in the following days, the local government said.

The Quezon City Council recently passed an ordinance introducing a fuel subsidy program for more than 25,000 members of QC TODAs.

In the ordinance, qualified tricycles-for-hire shall receive a fuel subsidy of P1,000 in the form of a fuel voucher which will be distributed by the QC Task Force for Transport and Traffic Management through the Tricycle Regulatory Division.

However, its implementing rules and regulations and guidelines on the distribution process have yet to be finalized.

Meanwhile, Belmonte encouraged residents, especially motorists, to avail of free rides under the Q City Bus System in light of rising fuel prices.

The program, which was launched during the pandemic, provides free rides to all commuters, and continues to operate on eight routes:

• Route 1: Quezon City Hall to Cubao;
• Route 2: Quezon City Hall to LITEX;
• Route 3: Welcome Rotonda to Aurora Blvd./Katipunan;
• Route 4: Quezon City Hall to Gen. Luis;
• Route 5: Quezon City Hall to Mindanao Ave. via Visayas Ave.;
• Route 6: Quezon City Hall to Gilmore;
• Route 7: Quezon City Hall to Ortigas Avenue Extension; and
• Route 8: Quezon City Hall to Muñoz.

The buses ply their routes every day from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Belmonte said the city’s bus augmentation program adopts an efficient mode of transportation to ease traffic congestion and reduce the transportation expenses of commuters. — VBL, GMA News