Solons push for pilot test for motorcycles-for-hire

Lawmakers asked the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Monday to implement a pilot test for motorcycles-for-hire as the possibility of passing a bill that would allow these to operate as public utility vehicles (PUVs) before Congress adjourns in June grew slimmer.

“What will it take for [Transport] Secretary Tugade to approve this test?” asked Manila Rep. Cristal Bagatsing.

“If we could call him to get him onboard, we will do it. Because honestly, the [situation is] so pitiful. I shake hands with so many people who ask me what’s [going to happen to] motorcycle taxis, because [these are their source of] livelihood,” Bagatsing said.

The DOTr has already convened its technical working group to discuss, among others, the feasibility of legalizing and regulating motorcycle taxis.

IRR for motorcycle taxis

One of the group’s expected outputs was a set of implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for motorcycles operating as PUVs, Transport Undersecretary Mark de Leon told the Inquirer.

Asked whether Tugade was open to a pilot test, De Leon said that “[it was] among the expected outputs of the group’s discussions.”

The pilot test would help the DOTr determine whether the draft IRR was effective and could help redefine the parameters for regulating motorcycle taxis, he added.