Angkas, Joyride, and Move It motorcycle taxis have been awarded extended runs and caps on the number of riders servicing their areas redistributed.
The Inter-Agency Technical Working Group on motorcycle taxis announced on February 19, 2020, the updated numbers of riders for each of the three (3) transport network companies (TNCs).
The directive also included the affirmation that the motorcycle taxi pilot run will push through until March 23, 2020, as previously planned.
The pilot run was first enacted to assess motorcycle taxis as viable and safe modes of public transport.
Participating in this pilot run are the businesses Angkas, Joyride, and Move It while pilot testing takes place in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro.
Below are the actual numbers of authorized drivers submitted by the service providers:
Metro Manila
Angkas ………. 23,164
Joyride ………. 15,000
Move It ……….. 6,836
Metro Cebu
Angkas ………… 4,500
Joyride ………… 4,488
Move It ……………….. 0
Cagayan De Oro
Angkas …………… 925
Joyride …………… 198
Move It ………………. 0
The number of authorized riders reaches only 55,111 slots over the newly-prescribed 63,000 open slots in the entirety of the study. The businesses are open for more applicants for their rosters as demand for the service is reportedly increasing and further showing support and preference of the public towards this type of transport in urban commute.
Despite this preference, recent developments such as increasing roster numbers and opening the test in Cagayan de Oro added to the criticism against this pilot run. These criticisms came to a head in December 2019, where Congress was pushed to bring the study to an early close due to multiple legal infractions. Afterwards, the TNCs were bracing for a complete closure of operations.
In January, 2020, the Senate said that although the study itself ended, the pilot run for motorcycle taxis has been allowed to push through until Congress amends Republic Act 4136, also known as the Land Transport and Traffic Code, where motorcycles are not recognized as public transport vehicles.
Urban commuters have increasingly shown prefererence for motorcycle taxis due to their ease of weaving through dense traffic. Traffic has always been a bane to living in the Philippines, and citizens have been looking forward to new services or infrastructure developments to lessen travel time and reduce congestion.
Among the more awaited infrastructure projects are the LRT 1 Cavite extension and the Unified Grand Cemtral Station.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to the movers of the motorcycling community!
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