Meanwhile, party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles said the recent nationwide transport strike that threatened to cripple public transportation has underscored the urgency of passing a measure to regulate the use and the operation of motorcycle taxis and other motorcyle-for-hire services.
DBP vice president Rustico Noli Cruz and LandBank assistant vice president Genoroso David acted as resource persons during the hearing conducted by the House Committee on Transportation chaired by Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop.“Based on our initial study when we were involved in the conceptualization of this project, we found that operations of transport entities are to be viable if the cost is within P1.6 million to P1.8 million per unit. But now, the jeepney’s cost is P2.3 million to P2.
House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro asked the resource persons if it were possible for jeepney drivers to earn the amount in 30 days, “without day off. “That’s P1,200 per day,” he added.Castro said even with two drivers, such threshold was still high. “We are thankful that the presence of our motorcycle taxis like Angkas and Joyride mitigated the effect of the nationwide transport strike. Thousands of commuters were still able to get a ride using these motorcycle taxis. Clearly, the transport strike has shown us that while motorcycle taxis can be very convenient, they can be also very dangerous if not properly regulated,” Nograles said.
Nograles said the nationwide transport strike should serve as an eye-opener for Congress to urgently consider the enactment of a law regulating motorcycle-for-hire services to prevent the proliferation of unauthorized and colorum motorcycle taxis.