The passage of a law that will provide more transportation options to Filipino commuters is most welcome as it will encourage the entry of more players in the country.
This was the position of Lim Yew Heng, Grab senior executive vice president, as the Senate committee on public services tackled on Tuesday Senate Bill No. 104, or the proposed measure which seeks to allow and regulate the use of motorcycles as public utility vehicles authored by Sen. Grace Poe, the committee chairman.
“Grab believes that a well-regulated and inclusive framework for motorcycle taxis in the Philippines can bring significant benefits… Passing a law that regulates motorcycle taxis stabilizes the regulatory environment which will encourage healthy competition,” said Lim, who flew from Singapore to attend the committee hearing.
Lim said the sooner a motorcycle taxi law is passed, “the better for consumers who, under the current setup, can only choose between three motorcycle taxi companies.”
At present, three motorcycle taxi companies that are part of a government pilot program have been allowed to ply the roads of Metro Manila under a provisional authority to operate issued by the Department of Transportation (DOTr). They are Angkas, Joyride and Move It.
Angkas, which is the dominant player among motorcycle taxi companies, has 30,000 riders on record, according to its owner George Royeca in a media interview last December. It has about 50 percent market share.
In January 2020, Angkas asked the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to prevent two other ride-hailing companies, JoyRide and Move It, from participating in the motorcycle taxi pilot run. The petition, however, was denied.
Poe said it is high time that motorcycles are legalized as a safe and convenient mode of public transportation in the country, adding that DOTr’s pilot study on the viability of motorcycle taxis which started in 2019 can be used as a basis for legislation.
“After more than four years of continuous studies by the technical working group (TWG), it now appears, without a doubt, that commuters are overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing motorcycles taxis,” Poe said, citing the TWG survey which reported that 96 percent of motorcycle taxi passengers believed that government should allow motorcycle taxis.
The study also showed that commuters favor motorcycle taxis’ affordability and quicker conveyance time in the clogged streets of urban centers where motorcycle taxis were allowed to operate.
“To me, this pilot study is the strength of this policy,” said Poe, adding that implementation gaps seen earlier give regulators enough time to come up with interventions to improve its regulation once legalized.
“Four years and a global pandemic later, we believe it is now high time for Congress to use the data points from the ground to craft a policy that is responsive to the needs of the commuting public and all the stakeholders of the ever growing motorcycle taxi industry,” she added.
The pilot run allowed motorcycle transport network companies Angkas, JoyRide and Move It to have a combined total cap of 45,000 riders in Metro Manila.
