Commuters outside Metro Manila may soon experience the convenience of riding motorcycle taxis for daily commute once a proposal to expand the scope of the pilot program materializes.
Responding to the report by the Department of Transportation Technical Working Group or DoTr- TWG, the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday signified its support to extend the motorcycle taxi pilot study outside Metro Manila.
Committee Chair and Antipolo 2nd District Representative Romeo Acop, in a statement, said the program could be extended to the provinces of Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, Iloilo, Bacolod, Pampanga, Davao, Zamboanga, Legazpi, General Santos, Pangasinan, and Baguio.
The Passenger Forum or TPF, an advocate for commuter welfare, had earlier urged the government to expand the ongoing motorcycle taxi pilot study countrywide.
TPF Lead Convenor Primo Morillo said expanding the program will not only help commuters but will also solve the decades-old problem of habal-habal riders.
"The habal-habal started because of the scarcity of transportation and these drivers cannot properly register themselves so if expand the pilot program, we can easily resolve these issues," Morillo said.
National Confederation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines or NACTODAP President Ariel Lim also supported the need to disperse bike taxi operations nationwide.
Lim noted that the "overwhelming concentration of such services in the capital city" may adversely affect tricycle-related livelihoods.
"We do not condone motorcycle taxis because they actually help commuters in Metro Manila but they are getting more concentrated here and it may affect the livelihood of tricycle members," Lim said.
The Land Transportation Office or LTO has allocated 63,000 motorcycle taxis nationwide but only 54,000 are currently enrolled. In Metro Manila alone, the 45,000 allocation had been used up.
The present motorcycle taxi pilot study is confined to three cities: Metro Manila, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro.
To recall, LTO chief Atty. Vigor Mendoza, who also sits as the vice chairman of the DoTr-TWG requested the House Transportation Committee for a six-month extension of the pilot study.
He cited the imperative for a market capacity study conducted by the UP National Center for Transport Study, especially with the imminent entry of seven new players.
These new entrants comprise Cloud Panda Philippines Inc., Taxi Philippines Inc., E Pick Me Up Inc., Easy Way Transport Service and Multipurpose Cooperative, Para Express Technology Services Inc., Grab Philippines, and Market Innovators Inc.
However, Acop argued that the MC taxi pilot study had already been given an extended period.
"We consider the final recommendations of your ongoing pilot study as an important source of information and a critical component in our legislative process. Since you gave us six months, you have to finish that [study] otherwise, the TWG of this committee, headed by Honorable Pancho, will not finish its work," Acop told Mendoza.
After the temporary suspension of the study during the height of the pandemic, the DoTr has reconvened the TWG mandated to oversee and monitor the pilot implementation of motorcycle taxi operations.
In November 2022, Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista issued Department Order No. 2022-021 reconstituting the group.
The TWG, according to the order, has the power to review and supplement guidelines and regulations as necessary and ensure proper and effective coordination among all concerned government agencies and stakeholders involved. The group is also tasked to consolidate data and information from the pilot implementation reviewed and submitted to Congress.
