Binalonan Mayor Invites Grab to Spike Better Transpo Service

           To deter pricey fares of trikes

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

BINALONAN – Unlike other mayors of towns and cities, the mayor here has a political will to host GrabTrike to better-off the conveniences of the passengers despite the grumblings of tricycle drivers whose income will be threatened by a new rival.

One of the reasons of Mayor Ramon “Monmon” Guico, III in opening this first class town to Grab was the perennial outrageous contractual pricing by tricycle drivers of ferrying the passengers to their destination.

AUTO RICKSHAW - Some of the three-wheel  Android phone induced GrabTrike in Binalonan, Pangasinan being displayed in front of the town hall after they joined the motorcade around the burgeoning town for their soft opening to the riding public.

A political kibitzer lauded Mayor Guico for the entry of the Android phone induced ride hailing vehicles as other mayors of towns and cities in Pangasinan could not even ban motorized tricycles and trisikad (bicycle pedicab) in their main thoroughfares.

“That’s five thousand voters if you include the voting wives and children. Since time immemorial no mayor in this town will get rid of the trisikads that are the culprits for the monster traffic in our town,” a former mayor of the central Pangasinan town told this writer.

 Guico said that he opened this town to the almost 100 units of mechanized three wheeled taxi’s Tuktuk because exploited passengers especially at the wee hours have been victims of the excessive pricing by the regular tricycle drivers.

The Tuktuk carries six passengers on the two back-to-back seats behind the driver's seat.

He explained that a passenger that disembarked here from a commercial bus from Manila could just go at the nearby 7-11 or Jollibee and text through his or her smart phone the nearest GrabTrike.

“Wala ng kontrata kontrata. Pag dating ka hatinggabi Manila wala ka choice patulan mo (ang tricycle) na puweding sumundo in the same manner ang tricycle walang papayag na dito midnight hatid mo ako sa Laoac (nearby town from here)”.

Binalonan Mayor Monmon Guico (4th from left) poses with executives of Grab who are based in Manila and Baguio City after the motorcade of the passenger hailing and sharing three wheeled public utility vehicles. Guico is joined in this photo by Pangasinan's provincial board aspirant Louie Sison (5th from left). Sison runs under the ticket of Guico who guns for a congressional post in the next year's election.

He said just like the ordinary tricycles, Grab drivers can join the queue of the tricycles in some designated areas here.

But his office will create stations in schools and villages for the Singapore licensed transportation firm.

“We also created sample ng pick up or drop off and we shared it with the office of the mayor, para ma compare nila itong plus and minus, may difference talaga siya e,” Robert Belda, head of Grab-National on City Operation and Expansion, cited after the motorcades of the new mode of transportation here recently.

GrabTrike franchised to operate here is subject to this town’s franchising board and the Sangguniang Bayan (legislature).

 GrabCar, another subsidiary of Grab, was accredited as a Transportation Network Company (TNC) by the country’s Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in 2015.

According to Belda this burgeoning town is the third LGU to host the internet capable public utility vehicle.

The first to avail late last year was Balanga City in Bataan and Angeles City in Pampanga early this year.

A tricycle driver who complained in a television interview and to this newspaper said that many of them could not afford the vehicle because it cost P180,000 each not to mention the Android mobile phone each of the drivers needs while he can buy a motorcycle and a side car in Dagupan City for P59,000 only.

Mayor Guico said the LGU here could meet the 100 minimum auto rickshaws and will help on the purchase of the mobile phones for the drivers.

 “Gagawa kami ng paraan para magbigay si Grab ng load sa kanila. At saka kung mas maramin silang na book may incentives sila,” he stressed.

Belda said that Grab is still making a scheme how it could earn from the fare of the passengers in their non-meter vehicles here.

“There is a design pricing scheme, I could not just discuss now. I don’t have details just like how it is different from Grab Taxi because Grab Taxi they have meters. This one has a fare matrix approved by other LGUs, the tricycle group. Ang ginawa namin dito since wala siyang metro we created a pricing scheme that will somewhat be very close to the approve fare matrix ng tricycle”.

Mayor Guico is the third generation of the illustrious political family that governed this progressive town in Eastern Pangasinan for decades. He  will end his term as mayor after he served the LGU here for nine years at the noon of June 30, 2019. While he filed his candidacy for the congressional seat of his eight towns and one city’s district, his father Ramon, Jr is making a comeback as the chief executive of the thriving town. 

Binalonians, here is your chance to be part of Grab Premium!

Due to its high bookings, we are now hiring additional drivers of the GrabTrike Premium (Piaggo Ape/Tuktuk)! 
Potential applicants can submit their fully-accomplished bio data and driver's license at the Mayor's Office.
For more inquiries, contact:
09338701799
+63756339438
info@binalonan.gov.ph

    

READ MY OTHER ARTICLE:

Mon-Mon Guico Declares Cong Run