Legalizing MC taxis

Recently, motorcycle (MC) taxi service provider Move It asked the government to reconsider its decision to cut by more than half its current driver fleet.

- MARY ANN LL. REYES

Move It said that it is opposing the order of the government's technical working group on MC taxis — a creation of Congress but under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) — to trim its motorcycle tax fleet to only 6,836 from the present 14,662 within 30 days.

According to the TWG, there was a consensus in 2020 that would cap Move It's fleet to 6,836. Angkas got 23,164 while JoyRide PH was given 15,000.

The TWG also ordered Move It to stop the onboarding of new riders for one year and to stop operating in Cebu City and Cagayan de Oro City after it found out that the company had no authority to deploy riders in these areas.

In directing Move It to bring down its fleet by more than half, the TWG said that it was observing the rider cap of 45,000 for Metro Manila imposed in 2020.

Move It is filing a motion for reconsideration with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), even as it asked the TWG to consider the differences in the period from the time that the rider cap was implemented in 2020 to the transport landscape right now.

It said that MC taxis have since become one of the most preferred modes of transport in the metro and that the rider cap being enforced is based on pandemic-era guidelines from November 2020.

Thousands of MC taxis are now allowed on the streets because of a pilot test approved by Congress in June 2019 to determine their reliability and safety as a means of public transport.

Pending legislation, MC taxis were provisionally allowed to ferry passengers after Congress approved in June 2019 a six-month pilot run in Metro Manila, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro.

It was originally set to end on Dec. 26, 2019, but was extended until March 23, 2020, to allow for further study. The pandemic, however, delayed the deliberations and prompted another pilot test period. The study concluded in May 2024, but the pilot run was extended indefinitely by Congress.