CPA urged: Treat travellers well with proper taxi terminals

CEBU, Philippines - The Provincial Board is asking the Cebu Ports Authority to designate areas as taxi terminals in all ports in Cebu and to assign trained personnel who can oversee the loading and unloading of passengers.

The move was initiated by Board Member Agnes Magpale, head of the Board’s committee on tourism, who expressed alarm over letters from foreign nationals published in The FREEMAN last January 5.

The letter entitled, “Tourist extortion by Cebu taxi drivers at the pier,” sent by Spencer Anderson living in Boracay Island was published on January 19. Another letter sent by Julieta Eriksson who shared Anderson’s sentiments, was published the following day. Eriksson is a Cebuana who now lives in Sweden.

In his letter, Anderson vowed to never return to Cebu and even called on other foreigners to do the same.Anderson alleged that when his group was getting a taxi from Pier 4 in Cebu City to the Hilton resort in Mactan, many of the drivers demanded a fair of P600 or P700 and told them their meter was not working or they did not know where the resort is located.

The pier workers even suggested that they walk to the main road and try their luck there. The problem at that time, Anderson said, is that the way to the main road was dark as it was already past 9pm and it was raining hard.

“Definitely, this one poignant episode is causing another unwarranted damage to the highly esteemed image of Cebu as a wholesome tourist destination,” Magpale said.

Magpale said that with Cebu’s pursuit to figure in the global tourism map, authorities should not allow “disgraceful setback by the mere indiscriminate showcase of ill-manners, foul play, and other illicit machinations orchestrated by Cebu’s notoriously cunning taxi drivers.”

Many unscrupulous taxi drivers allegedly demand exorbitant fares from passengers, notably during peak hours, wee hours of the night, heavy rains, or when the passengers’ destinations are quite far.

Magpale said this lingering practice among scheming taxi drivers has been victimizing regular commuters from all walks of life, including local visitors and foreign tourists alike.

The port becomes a luring magnet to numerous taxi drivers waiting for passengers arriving from aboard domestic or international ships. — (FREEMAN)