A transport advocacy alliance on Thursday welcomed the recommendation of a government technical working group (TWG) to allow the operation of the ride hailing app motorcycle taxis beyond the National Capital Region (NCR).
The Department of Transportation’s TWG on motorcycle taxis has submitted its proposal to the House Transportation Committee to extend the pilot study in major cities outside Metro Manila.
Primo Morillo, convenor of the advocacy group Passenger Forum, said “the problem of insufficient public transport options is not exclusive to Metro Manila commuters.”
“We have heard several positive feedbacks from commuters in Cebu and Cagayan De Oro when they allowed MC taxis in their respective cities. Thus, we support the TWG’s recommendation to expand the study to other urban centers,” he added
The TWG report submitted to the House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation backed the proposed motor taxi study’s initial expansion in Pampanga, Batangas, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Davao City.
Included in the five secondary expansion areas were Zamboanga, Legazpi City, General Santos City, Baguio City and Pangasinan.
The TWG maintained that while the motor taxis would benefit the commuters, the government must still ensure that the development and expansion of a limited mass transport system is the top priority, according to Morillo.
“The recommended expansion of MC taxi study should go beyond Metro Manila. We need to share MC taxi benefits with other cities while at the same time, preventing further congestion of Metro Manila roads. MC taxis, after all, are still dependent on our congested road network in the NCR,” he said.
During the committee hearing, House Transportation Committee chairman Rep. Romeo Acop of Antipolo City said the DOTr-TWG wants to extend the MC pilot study to Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, Iloilo, Bacolod, Pampanga, Davao, Zamboanga, Legazpi, General Santos, Pangasinan, and Baguio.
Currently, the motorcycle taxi pilot study is confined to three cities: Metro Manila, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro.
“We consider the final recommendations of your on-going pilot study as an important source of information and critical component in our legislative process,” Acop said.
“Since you gave us six months, you have to finish that [study] otherwise, the TWG of this committee will not finish its work,” he added.
Land Transportation Office chief Vigor Mendoza II said that the allotment of 45,000 motorcycle taxis in Manila has already reached its limit.
Mendoza said there is an allocation of 63,000 motorcycle taxis nationwide, of which 54,000 are currently enrolled.
He added that 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. have expressed willingness to join the MC pilot study.
Earlier, the National Confederation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (NACTODAP) urged the government to disperse motorcycle taxi operations beyond Metro Manila.
The group’s leader highlighted concerns regarding the overwhelming concentration of such services in the capital city, expressing fears about potential adverse effects on tricycle-related livelihoods.