No more extension of motorcycle taxi pilot study, says DOTr’s TWG

Motorcycle taxi service providers, which were allowed by the government to operate, will no longer be permitted to transport passengers once the extended pilot run of their operations lapses March next year.

This, as the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) inter-agency Technical Working Group (TWG) will no longer extend the study and providers will have to wait for existing laws to be amended to allow their operations.

“‘Pag natapos ‘yung pilot program, walang tatakbo,” Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) member and TWG on motorcycle taxis chairman Antonio Gardiola Jr. told reporters in a chance interview on Thursday in Quezon City.

“We will come up with a conclusive study,” Gardiola said.

Last December 18, the inter-agency TWG extended the six-month pilot run of motorcycle ride-hailing operations for another three months, with the inclusion of two new players. 

This as the present pilot run involving motorcycle taxi pioneer Angkas will end on December 26.

The body has allowed Angkas, together with new players JoyRide, and Move to participate in the “Extended Pilot Implementation” starting December 23, 2019 up to March 23, 2020 with an overall allotted cap of 39,000 registered bikers —10,000 bikers per Transport Network Company (TNC) for Metro Manila and 3,000 bikers per TNC for Metro Cebu operations.

Angkas has since slammed the move to put a cap on riders and even accused the TWG of corruption. 

The TWG, however, said that extending the pilot run is not about the livelihood of riders but only to come up with a study for the eventual crafting of a law legalizing motorcycle taxis’ operations.

“‘Pag terminated na ang [pilot] program on March 23 [2020], edi wala ng study, ibig sabihin walang authorized na tumakbo sa kalsada,” Gardiola said.

“Magda-draft pa ng law ‘yung Congress... nobody can say, please consider them because we have a law, the law prevails all,” Gardiola said.

In May, the DOTr allowed Angkas to operate as ride-hailing motorcycle taxi for six months starting in June.

The pilot run was approved in aid of legislation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to evaluate pending bills pushing for the legalization of motorcycles as public utility vehicles (PUVs).

As a result, existing laws such as Republic Act No. 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code may be amended, according to the DOTr.

“Ang problema kasi dito sa atin, ‘yung batas suggestion, di naman pwedeng ganun.. so they have to wait na maging batas ‘yan,” TWG member Bert Suansing said.

“Basta after March, nagsubmit na kami ng recommendation sa Congress,“ Suansing said.

An initiative of the DOTr, the TWG was created to gather data and determine the viability of motorcycles as a safe mode of public transportation, which may be taken into consideration during deliberations on pending bills in both houses of Congress.

Its members include representatives from the DOTr, LTFRB, Land Transportation Office (LTO), and the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (i-ACT). — MDM, GMA News