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R MOTORCYCLE.
STORY BY LEILA B.
END E ARLY
SALAVERRIA
 Pilot test of motorcyele
taxis may be ended early
tn0ilAr
By Leila E. Salaverria
@LeilaslNO
Is it goodbye lor now, motor-
cY.l€ tar{is?
The government's tech-
nical working (TWG) on mo-
torcrcle taxis sought the early
ternlination of its three,month
pilor srud! wirhout coming to
an! conclusion, citing rhe court
caseS liled bv pioneer Angkas
againsr rlre group's guid€lines
that ir said pr€v€nted it from
conduc!ing an effective assess-
ment of the mode oftranspor-
tation.
The TWG also sought the
blacklisring of Angkas, the
dolninant player in the motor,
crcle for-hire busin€ss, for vi
olating its directives-
The move drew protests
and criticisms from lawmak
ers, who said commuters were
bound to suffer.
A labor group, Defend tob
Philippines, slammed what jr
called the "maisacre" of the
livelihood of up to 47,ooo mo-
torcvcle taxi drivers.
Movelt, JoyRide, too
The cancellation of the pi
Lot study, which was supposed
to end on March 2j, wouid
nean that the other motorcy-
cle taxis-new entrants Move-
It and ioyRide woulil be con-
sidered illegal and would be
apprehendcd, said TWG chair
Antonio cardiola, a member of
the Land Transportation and
Franchising Regulatory Board
(LTFRB).
Th€ rest run is aimed at de-
terminiIg rvhether motorbikes
are sale lor public transport.
Gardiola said the order
io terminate rh€ pilot srudy
$'ould be implemented in one
Big demand
"They are drawing their They fiied a case that impeded
authority to run motorcycle the study. We can,t gather data
SENATE PROTEST Angkasdrivers raisetheirfists jn protesr
during Monday's Senate hearing on motorcyle taxis after a
rrembe" of tre La'1d T-ansoo.tarion Franchisirq and Req,rUrto
'v Boa"d said the agency wo-rd termr-aje L!pilotreirlo-j'
motorcycl€ taxis next week. -vrireNre
[ta\is] because of the study,"
Gqrdiola told rcporters at the
Senate, pointing out that the
law still bars motorc,vcles from
being prblic utility vehicles.
There is big demand for
motorcycle ta-{i seIwic€ in Met
ro ManiLa, where commuters
often spend three to four hours
daily on rh€ road lihile raking
traditional public transport
to get to work and home due
to severe trafic congestion.
Motorcycle td(is provide fast-
er transport in the metropolis
and in Cebu City because rhey
can weave in and out oftralic.
Gardiola said the actions of
Angkas, which had quesrioned
in court the 1o,ooo cap on its
dders, were anchored on eco-
nomics, but the TWG was fo,
cused on safety,
Because of the cases filed
by Angkas, the Twc could not
be able to collect proper data,
he added-
"Th€y are tesorring to Ie
gal dgnrarole in this situation.
\ -tlEAouie
sEni^uoez
because gf,the actions taken by
one player, so it's better ro t€r-
minat€ it," he said.
Bur senators qlickli as
sailed the TWG rnove, saying
the group should coltinue ro
do its job and conduct fhe as,
sessmeut since the data were
necessary for Congress to
write laws on motorcycle taxis.
Commute$ to suffer
Moreover, putting a stop
to the operation of motorcycle
taxis would lead to dre suffer-
ing of a lot of commuters who
are struggling with the coun-
try's poor pubLic transporta
tion system, the lawmakers
said.
Gardiola said he would
convene lhe TWG and advise
Transportation Secretary Ar
thur Tugade about the sena
Sen. Chrisropher co, who
met with protesting Angkas
drivels outside th€ Senate,
said he had asked Tugade and
LIFRB Chair Martin Delgra
not to stop tbe pilot study and
NeuJss
t"()
lo talk with tbe motorcycle
groups,
The ollicials agreed nor to
arresl motorcycic la-{i drivers,
Go said, adding that he rvould
also bring the matter to the
President's artention.
Uniust, arbitrary
Sen. Grac€ Poe, who chairs
the public services cornmiftee
that had a scheduled hearing
on motoac!:le ra\is on \'lon-
dav, described [he TIVG s de
cision as a cas€ af tir ior rat
b,"cause of Angkas' srit agajnst
its guidelines.
Poe warned that she would
ask the private sector to file
more cases against the TwG as
its decision was unjust, given
that it would depriv€ people
ol something dley badly need.
But she also said the motorcy-
cle la\i companies shorlld re-
frain from nling coult cases.
"It's very arbitrary. Itt not
based on reason, but based on
ivhat they want to cio. It's verv
rYrong," she tokl reporr€rs.
she said she was disrrayed
thal some government officials
rvork in ihis manner. "They're
full of veng€ance. Their com-
Petence to head this program
should be q estjoned."
Sbe did nor buy the TWc's
excuse that it was nnding ii
hard ro collect safetv data.
Similar information is avail
abl€ fron thc Philippinc Na,
lional Policc and the Merro
Manila Dev€loprnent Authori-
ty. she said.
Senate President Pro Tem-
pore Ralph Recto aiso said the
TWC rvas angrybecause a tem-
poran restraining order (TRO)
was issued againsr it, birt he
noted fiat the group did rot
conduct enough public consri
latidns.
Open to withdraw cases
Algkas spokesperson George
Royeca said the company and the
TWG had agrecd afrer the Sen
ate hearing to meet tD talk drings
Royeca also said Angkas'
only issucr^'as nbout the cap on
its drivers and exprcss€d open-
ness to withdrawing the cases
th€ compauy had filcd asainst
lhe TWG.
"lf we canrcsolv€ that, then
there shoul(l l)e no issrre on anv
court cases orany lvpF olorhcr
isslles at all," he told reporters.
In re{:omrnending lhe
blacklisting ol Angkas, the
TWG silid the company had
''blatand\, exhibit€d d"6-|cc
on mandated guid€lines.
Issues againstAnltkas
The TWG listed the obsta
cles it encount€red in rhe pilot
srlldy, slrch as Angkas'r:rllics
protesting lhe cap on drivers,
social mcdia statenlenls djspar-
agirg lhe TWG, and the coLr(
cases lhat rcsrlted in the'iss
ance ola TRO on the clri!'er cap.
Il blamed Angkas' aclions
for i$ lailure to execute its
plan to deploy mystery pas
s€ngels that will .h€.k rhe
pariicipants compliance !vilh
tl1f guidelincs. to corduct field
survel operalj1rns to sith..
dirta on passenger f-"€dback,
to inspect faciLities and of.rr
ations of participanrs in l\,{."!ro
Manila and Cebu, and lo veri
fy, assess, review and audit thc
training prograns ol tlre ronr
Pani,as-
IoyRide told the Inqnirer
that it was hopeiul rhe l\\rc
woukl reconsider its dccision.
"We understand whcre the
TWG is corning front, brt wele
hoping they can sdll dccide on
this favorahly," said Jo]ryide
spok€spersoI Noli I]ala Not
o y ior Jotrkl," and all rh€ oth
er opcrarors, bLlt more so for rh€
commuters ivllo relyon us."
In the IIouse oI Repre-
sentatives, Munrinlupa Rep.
Rr1ffy Biazon remindcd trans,
port olicials that they sho|ld
come Lrp with soiutioos to the
pnblic's trarsportation needs.
"The sLldden suspcnsion is not
a sohtion. It exacerbates the
pr oblenl," he said. -wrrH REeoRrs