Motorcycle taxi TWG Members call transparency on, urge Congress to act
LEADER Inc., Komyut, Move Metro Manila, and LCSP are some of the organizations that were taken by surprise with the recent news citing the TWG’s alleged decision to recommend the extension of the pilot and its expansion to other players.
Recall that in December 2018, a multi-stakeholder technical working group was formed by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to study and discuss the possibility of introducing motorcycle taxi as a public transport mode.
In June, DOTr issued the guidelines for the pilot run of the service, based on TWG’s recommendations, with Angkas as the only app-based service at that time.
“Bakit di kami na konsulta tungkol dyan sa bagong players na gusto sumali sa Pilot Run” said Atty. Ariel Inton of Lawyers for Commuter Safety and Protection (LCSP).
See also: Commuter Safety Group files TRO vs i-Sabay, et al.
Recently, there are at least five companies identified by LCSP who are offering the same service offered by Angkas. These companies include We Move Things Philippines Inc. (Joyride), Habal Rides Corp., I-Sabay, Sampa-Dala Corp., and Trans-Serve Corp..
Since August, we have been seeking for the TWG to be convened to discuss the initial data, and experience of Angkas, but to no avail,” said Toix Cerna, Spokesperson of the commuter’s group Komyut. “Our task was to also monitor and assess the results of the pilot so that we are informed of what to recommend for the legislative measures pending in Congres”, Cerna added.
According to Kumyut, currently, there are nine (9) bills filed in Congress legalizing motorcycle taxi as a public transport mode. In the 17th Congress, the House passed House Bill 8959 to make motorcycle taxi a public transport mode. On the part of the Senate, the measure only reached second reading, under the committee chaired by Senator Grace Poe.
Meanwhile, the groups are asking for greater transparency in the TWG’s procedures. Several members of the TWG were not aware of when the decision of extending and expanding the pilot, was deliberated or reached since there was no TWG meeting convened since February 2019, according to Komyut.
The TRO filed by LCSP is now with the Quezon City RTC Branch 85.
