The Senate committee on public services headed by Senator Grace Poe will conduct a public hearing on Jan. 14, Tuesday on bills proposing to regulate the use of motorcycles as safe and alternative public utility vehicles.
The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. at the Senate Session Hall and will tackle the four bills on motorcycle taxis filed by Poe and fellow Senators Sonny Angara, Imee Marcos and Ralph Recto.
Poe said the long lines of commuters waiting for rides leave no doubt that we need alternative public utility vehicles.
“We hope this hearing will help find solutions to issues on safety, legality and other questions that need to be threshed out towards an efficient transport system as a whole,” Poe said.
At the hearing, Poe said she would ask for updates from the Department of Transportation on the pilot implementation of motorcycle taxis which started in June 2019.
“The results of the pilot run will be an important guide for the committee in crafting the final version of the bill,” she said.
“Our ultimate goal is availability, safety, and comfort for our riding public,” Poe added.
The cap set by the regulator on the number of motorcycle taxis and issues concerning ownership will also be tackled in the hearing.
Under Poe's Senate Bill 128 or the proposed Motorcycles-for-Hire Act of 2019, operators of motorcycle taxis may utilize online ride-hailing or pre-arranged transportation platforms.
When passed into law, it will amend Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.
A new ride-hailing motorcycle taxi service—JoyRide— wants to convince the Department of Transportation and lawmakers that they are serious in providing another mode of transportation that is “safe and world-class”
At a news conference, JoyRide vice president for corporate affairs Noli Eala said “we want to show that the motorcycle taxi service on the road can be a world-class industry.”
“We do not want to start [business] in the wrong direction,” he added.
Eala, along with banker Richard Aruisu, and Rico Meneses from a safety training center and information technology expert and JoyRide president Sherwin Yu, and logistics expert Edwin Rodriguez, on Tuesday toured the media in their 5,000-square meter facility in Antipolo City, Rizal to showcase how organized and systematic JoyRide is in assuring the public that they have well-trained bikers who are required to go through vehicle inspection and a seminar on basic road safety, road courtesy, and traffic rules and regulations.
“You now have seen our facility. What about the other competitors? Have you been invited to see theirs? We are very transparent compared to others,” Rodriguez told reporters.
According to Eala, more than anything else, JoyRide is after the safety of both riders and the passengers.
With an initial investment of P30 million, he said, JoyRide is taking a risk.
“How can you push the government to act favorably if we do not provide them with services or facilities, such as these? We want to prove that this industry is a serious one. This is not a fly-by-night [business] so we are trying to convince the government that we can make this industry safe,” Eala said.
Should legislators reject the passage of the amendment of Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, JoyRide could always go back to its original business of delivery of services, Eala said.
We Move Things Philippines, JoyRide's sister company, is the operator of Happy Move delivery services.
JoyRide and another mobile-app ride-hailing service—Move It—have been given the chance to operate in an extended three-month pilot study of the DOTr's technical working group to assess the viability of motorcycle taxi operation.