File photo shows a motorcycle taxi in Mandaluyong City. (INQUIRER PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — A transport coalition on Thursday said that motorcycle taxi drivers should not be allowed to switch companies as this does not give a proper gauge of the number of riders.
During a House Committee hearing deliberating a bill legalizing motorcycle taxis, National Public Transport Coalition and the National Confederation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines (NACTODAP) President Ariel Lim called riders switching companies “multihoming.”
“Dapat po hindi pumapayag at hindi dapat pinapayagan na palipat-lipat yung isang driver sa tatlo o pito o anong kumpanya. Kasi po ang nangyayari po ngayon, kaya po hanggang ngayon hindi mabigay ang numbers ng motorycle taxis na tumatakbo because, nag mu-multihoming nga po,”said Lim.
(Drivers should not be allowed to switch or transfer to several companies. What happens is, until now, they could not give the number of motorcycle taxis that run because they are multihoming.)
Lim explained that this creates a problem in filling the 45,000 slots allotted by the government.
Under the government’s prolonged pilot study of motorcycle taxis in the country, the only companies allowed to operate are Move It, Angkas, and JoyRide.
“Namatay yung pinaglaban natin na kaya tayo naglagay ng motorcycle taxi, para makatulong sa mga walang trabaho. Mapuno yung [45,000] para mabilang po namin kung hanggang 45,000 lang ang kailangan tumakbo sa Metro Manila,” said Lim.
(We lost in the fight for a cause that should help those without work. The 45,000 slots should be filled so we can count if only 45,000 need to operate in Metro Manila.)
In 2019, Congress initially approved a six-month study of motorcycle taxis, which has since stretched. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has since called for the legalization of motorcycle taxis to aid commuters amid a worsening traffic situation in the country.