Maybe i missed the post, but i didn't see anything here about "special ride," which i read about a few months ago. I think that is a "no other passengers, direct route" ??? In that case, you should double the fare, since he's loosing revenue by not pickup up more passengers ?????????
Try quadruple the fare, more like it. One should pay for the empty seats that would otherwise be used. Special trip that is. Negotiable!
That is always what we locals do when the destination is a bit "off downtown". For example, you're willing to pay from P40 to P50, start with P40. The driver will often ask if you're willing to share the ride if there's a passenger along the route. I always say yes.
I never tell the driver to not pick up other passengers nor do I ever ask for a special ride. That's the driver's problem. If you use the silent treatment that I mentioned earlier they will more than likely pick up other passengers.
I would say around 9 times out of 20 when catching a Tricycle across the City the Driver never picks up other passengers and we pay 20 pesos (for the 2 of us) and often give a 5 pesos tip... We always wait for an empty Tricycle and never get into one that is already carrying passengers.
That's probably a good idea. I know if I sit on the front seat of the trike it becomes very unstable. No trike driver has ever let me sit in that seat. If there are people in the cab seats I just hop on the back of the motorcycle, which is more comfortable for everyone. (Just have to be careful not to get your kneecaps shaved off by on-coming traffic...watch where you are going if you take that seat.)