Senator wants motorcycles-for-hire legalized

MANILA, Philippines — To give commuters more options for transportation, Senator Sonny Angara wants to allow motorcycles to be used as a commercial vehicle to transport passengers and goods.

Angara has filed Senate Bill 1025 which seeks to amend the Land Transportation and Traffic Code (LTTC) to allow motorcycles to be registered as “for hire.”

He said that with the debilitating traffic problem in the Metro Manila especially when mass transit systems break down, commuters sometimes have no choice but to use motorcycles-for-hire or “habal habal.”

However, he pointed out that motorcycles-for-hire is technically considered illegal under the traffic code.

Under the LTTC, motorcycles are only allowed to be registered as either a private or government vehicle and listing it as for hire is prohibited.

But despite the prohibition, Angara said commuters and even unaccredited transport groups continue to use motorcycles for public transport.

“The demand for this service simply cannot be ignored, which is why I have filed a bill seeking to legalize the operation of motorcycles-for-hire,” Angara said in a statement.

Motorcycle ride-hailing firm Angkas, for example, was only allowed six months to operate as part of a pilot run for “motorcycle taxis.”

Under Angara’s proposed measure, motorcycles must have a minimum displacement of 125 cubic centimeters and a backbone-type built for them to be allowed to be registered at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to transport passengers.

LTO will likewise be tasked to ensure the roadworthiness of a motorcycle-for-hire before they are registered.

No modifications on the motorcycles will be allowed, except for the installation, based on safe engineering design specifications, of motorcycle luggage carriers, saddlebags, step boards or foot pegs and appropriate speed limiter and monitoring device, the bill proposed.

“Commuting in Metro Manila has become very challenging. A typical commuter has to allocate at least two hours to get to work or school and that is if their regular modes of transport are available. What if the MRT breaks down? Kulang pa ang 2 oras mo sa byahe,” Angara said.

“Tulad nitong nangyari sa LRT-2 na nasunog. Libo libong Pilipino ang naperwisyo nito at karamihan sa kanila ay habal na ang sinasakyan para mas mabilis makarating sa destinasyon nila at mas mura din ito kumpara sa Grab,” he added. /je