Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) board member Antonio Gardiola Jr. said Monday motorcycle taxis in the Philippines will be declared “illegal” and will be impounded starting next week.
Gardiola said LTFRB had recommended the termination of the pilot study meant to assess the safety of bikes for public transport. The Senate will have a hearing on bills to regulate motorcycle taxis.
“It’s really very significant, but then it’s also half of the three months ‘yung study natin, we cannot gather data because of the legal impediments,” Gardiola said.
“We are resorting to legal rigmarole sa nangyayaring ito. Bale, nagfile sila ng kaso na nai-impede ang study…We cannot gather data because of actions being undertaken on one of the players so it is better to terminate it,” he added.
Philippines motorcycle taxis illegal, will be impounded starting next week
Gardional, who leads the technical working group (TWG), said that the motorcycle taxis would be deemed “illegal.”
“So maybe a week from now, we will start enforcement already,” he further said.
This early January, the Department of Transportation’s Technical Working Group found that a Singaporean national owned 99 percent of the motorcycle ridesharing service Angkas.
It is said to be based on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) data, meaning Angkas violated existing laws and guidelines.
Based on SEC records, Angeline Xiwen Tham, a Singaporean national, owns 99.996% of Angkas.
Under common carrier law, 60% of public transportation in the country should be owned by Filipinos.
It was also learned that Angkas conducted operations outside the designated pilot run areas.
Many commuters also complain about Angkas for violating traffic safety rules, such as not wearing helmets and vests by riders and passengers, and allowing them to use unauthorized safety gear.