The Philippines has long been beset by public transport challenges. Metro Manila, the country’s capital, has been ranked as having the worst traffic congestion among 387 metro areas in the world by the 2023 TomTom Traffic Index.
It is in this environment that motorcycle taxis were born.
FROM HABAL-HABAL TO MOTORCYCLE TAXIS
Motorcycle taxis can find their roots in the habal-habal (or improvised motorcycles for hire that can ferry two to three passengers at a time), according to transportation consultant Rene S. Santiago.
Although the government has been piloting a study on MC taxis since 2019, this mode of transport has been “hiding in plain sight” for three decades, Mr. Santiago said in an October 2023 BusinessWorld column.
“A science-based pilot study would have to re-examine the necessity (or superfluity) of government regulation over a transport mode that has thrived over the years without one. And realize that the experiment has been going on, successfully, for three decades,” he said.
A GROWING INDUSTRY
Angkas, JoyRide, and MOVE IT are among the companies that have been permitted to provide motorcycle ride-hailing services.
Rino is one of the millions of office staff earning a living in Metro Manila. He is also one of the hundreds of thousands who rely on MC taxis to get him to and from work.
Dexter, who is applying to be a barista, said he also relies on this mode of transport.
The transport network companies have reported a total of 370,000 passengers per day nationwide, according to the TWG report, with Angkas accounting for about 57%, MOVE IT with 28%, and JoyRide at 15%.
Statista, a Germany-headquartered statistics portal, forecasts the revenue in the ride-hailing segment of the shared mobility market in the Philippines to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028. The indicator is estimated to reach US $833.93 million and therefore a new peak in 2028, it said in a January 2024 report.
MAKING A LIVING
Roldan is one of the tens of thousands of motorcycle taxi (MC taxi) riders in the Philippines, and he credits his MC taxi earnings as instrumental to his daughter’s academic success.
Roldan’s daughter, who graduated cum laude in a private Manila university, is his pride and joy.“
Lahat naman po tayong mga magulang, naka-focus tayo sa ating mga anak, dahil alam nating lahat na edukasyon ang tanging kayamanan na puwede natin ipamahagi sa kanila (All parents focus on giving the best to their children, because we all know that education is the one treasure that we can bequeath that cannot be taken away),” he said.
It makes for a good living, said MC taxi rider Faustine.
Faustine, whose flexible schedule allows him to fetch his daughters from school and then have lunch at home with them, says he always aims to clock in at least 20 rides a day.
“Biyabiyahe po ako ng morning, tapos uuwi po ako ng tanghali. Susunduin ko po anak ko galing school, at sabay din kaming manananghalian, tapos papahinga, tapos biyabiyahe ulit ako ng hapon (I work in the morning, then I take a break at noon to fetch my daughters from school so we can have lunch together. I rest afterwards, before working again in the afternoon onwards),” he told BusinessWorld in a separate January 18 interview.
Ryan, who once went viral on social media for helping a person with disability get home, likewise takes a break at noon to help his wife care for their three children.
“Yung tatlong oras po na yun, ginugugol ko sa mga anak ko…, kasi ang asawa ko nagsi-sideline din (My break time is for caring for my children while my wife tends to her business),” he said in a May 29 interview.
He added that his work as a rider has enabled his family to afford their needs as well as set up a business selling bagoong alamang (a Filipino condiment made from fermented shrimp paste).
“Pagbalik ng asawa ko, saka na din ako babalik mag-MOVE IT po (I go back to riding when my wife is done with her work).”
INCENTIVES FOR HIGH-PERFORMING RIDERS
The platforms have also set up rewards systems to boost the income of their rider-partners.
MOVE IT has Ka-MOVE IT Rewards, which has monetary and non-monetary rewards determined by factors like booking performance and passenger ratings.
Angkas likewise has corresponding incentives for each tier in its performance system.
HOW APPLICANTS ARE SCREENED AND TRAINED
The basic requirements to become an MC taxi rider are a professional driver’s license, together with other documents such as clearances from the police and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Applicants must then pass skills assessment and training.
JoyRide assesses and trains its bikers through a vetting process, according to its senior vice president Jose Emmanuel Eala. This process includes checking their motorcycle units, verifying personal and vehicle documents, and conducting skills assessments.
Bikers are then required to attend an orientation and training that focuses on “instilling the proper mindset for prioritizing safety, customer service excellence, and practicing defensive driving techniques,” he said in a May 30 email.
Both JoyRide and MOVE IT also provide regular vehicle re-checks and refresher courses.
“They undergo vehicle re-checks and update their accounts and documents to ensure they remain compliant with our standards,” Mr. Eala said.
“We make it a point to have regular training [for the riders], based on the feedback we get and based on how long they’ve been here,” also said MOVE IT general manager Wayne Jacinto.
Whereas some passengers want speed, others prioritize safety, he said.
“We can monitor the speed of our riders,” he told BusinessWorld in a May 29 interview.
“Nag-set kami ng tamang bilis. ‘Pag lumagpas ka sa bilis na ’to, kailangan ka namin makausap (We set a maximum speed limit for the riders too. We talk to those who exceed this limit),” he added.
THE CHALLENGES MC TAXI RIDERS AND PASSENGERS FACE
Maneuvering the crowded streets of Metro Manila cannot be described as a bed of roses.
One reason for the popularity of MC taxis is its ability to beat the traffic, Primo Murillo, convenor of The Passenger Forum, said. He also pointed out their utility in last-mile travel and lower fares compared to four-wheel transport network vehicles (TNVs).
Yung kailangan ayusin pa yung proseso ng accountability ng mga riders. Kailangan mayroong certainty na yung mga pasaway na riders ay matatanggal dito sa app (One thing that can be improved on is rider accountability. Riders who err should be removed in such apps),” he said in a Zoom call.
“Halimbawa, dapat one-strike policy pagka-usapin ng sexual harassment (For instance, there should be a one-strike policy when it comes to sexual harassment) …,” added Mr. Murillo. “Sa aming mga monitoring, hindi naman masyadong malaki ‘yan, [ngunit] hindi puwede bale-walain yan, kasi po ‘pag binale-wala ‘yan, unti-unting lalaki yan (Based on our monitoring, the incidence of such is low, although we still need to be vigilant, otherwise the numbers might increase).”
“PABABA NA” CULTURE
A chief concern of riders is the so-called pababa na gang, Mr. Jacinto said. Pababa na refers to passengers who say they’re at their pinned destination even if they’re ten minutes away.
“Ang customer nasa 28th floor pa, and then pagdating ng rider, dun pa lang siya pipindot ng elevator,” he said. “Minsan, matagal bago silala makababa, but our riders can’t wait too long kasi baka mahuli sila (Customers sometimes descend from the 28th floor only after the rider arrives, and getting to the ground floor can take time. Riders can’t wait that long because they might be called out).”
This is a matter of educating passengers that they need only book when they’re ready, he said.
Faustine is familiar with this pababa na gang.
He says passengers who make riders wait ten minutes before arriving at the pickup point are a bane. They’re the ones who make him realize the truth of the saying “Time is gold,” he said.
SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS
“We want to up the services we give our consumers and our drivers and our merchants in the next 10 years of our life,” said Grace Vera Cruz, country head of Grab Philippines, during BusinessWorld’s May 22 Eco Forum.
MOVE IT is an independently operating company powered by Grab.
“We want to use the right tools with AI [artificial intelligence] and the different technologies that are available…so they can reach their best potential,” she said.
Angkas, meanwhile, has initiated partnerships with government offices “to contribute to stakeholders’ safety and progress,” according to David Medrana, the company’s head of operations, in a June 26 Viber message.
Among these partnerships are a basic riding course for newbie bikers with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, a contract service agreement with the Home Development Mutual Fund, and a free audit of gas stations with the Department of Energy.
MOONLIGHTING FROM ONE APP TO ANOTHER
While multihoming might give riders the power of choice, a disadvantage would be figuring out “to whom we ascribe liability,” said Paul Austria, the Secretariat of the MC Taxi-Technical Working Group (TWG), and an Attorney IV at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Based on the study guidelines, a rider can only render up to ten hours a day.
“There’s a fatigue factor,” Mr. Austria said. “Kung mag-online naman po sila sa kabila (If he goes online again in another app), that’s a fresh ten hours, but in total naka-20 hours or more na po siya (the rider has had 20 or more hours already).”
The maximum number of hours MOVE IT sets for its riders is eight straight hours per day, Mr. Jacinto said.
“Some of our riders – kasi (because it’s a) gig economy – choose to ride five hours in the morning, and then rest, and then ride five hours ulit (again) in the afternoon. But the max is eight hours straight,” he said.
Roldan, meanwhile, suggests that riders shouldn’t be allowed to moonlight from one platform to another.
That leads to more problems, he said.
“For example, ako, isa akong Angkas biker, pero ang gagamitin kong app yung kabila, pag ma-aksidente ako, [kahit yung kabila yung] dala ko, ang maa-aksidente si Angkas (if I’m an Angkas driver and I use another app, should I get into an accident, it’s Angkas that’ll bear the brunt of the incidence and not the other app),” he pointed out.
“Kasi kung puwede siyang lumipat dito, puwede siya lumipat dun, bale wala yung batas ng motorcycle taxi. Kasi ma-deactivate man ako dito, may mapupuntahan pa ako (If a rider can flit from one app to another, he can flout the rules. Because even if his account gets deactivated in one app, he still has other apps he can turn to),” he added.
He likewise advocated the usefulness of being part of a group to overcome the challenges of a rider’s life.
“Ang isa sa pinakamaganda ‘pag may grupo ka, ‘pag nangalsada ka, hindi ka nag-iisa (What’s nice about being part of a group is that you’re not alone),” said Roldan, who’s also president of one of many rider groups. “Masiraan ka, magka-problema ka, ma-askidente ka, mahuli ka, o mabangga ka, may pupunta po sa ‘yo at yan ang grupo mo (Should you get into an accident or encounter problems, you can be assured of help from your group).”
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
May 2024 was the deadline given by Vigor D. Mendoza II, assistant secretary of the Land Transportation Office, for the MC Taxi-TWG to submit their final study.
A letter dated May 23, 2024 has since been sent to the office of Senator Grace Poe with the TWG’s analysis report enclosed. The report, which was also submitted to Congress in support of House Bill No. 10424 (An Act Regulating the Operation of Motorcycles-For-Hire), analyzed the permanent integration of MC taxis in the Philippines.
It showed that motorcycle taxis “as a permanent mode in the country’s transportation system is both feasible and advantageous.”
It likewise said these “have the potential to alleviate traffic congestion by reducing the number of vehicles on the road, thus improving traffic flow.”
Congress will deliberate a law for motorcycle taxis pending the study’s results.
The most important improvement that can be made to MC taxis, The Passenger Forum’s Mr. Murillo said, is for a motorcycle taxi law to be passed by the government.
JoyRide is optimistic about the study’s outcomes and eagerly anticipates the legalization of MC Taxi, Mr. Eala said.
“This legalization will provide legitimacy to this mode of transportation, facilitating clear legislation and implementing rules and regulations,” he said, adding that the regulations are “crucial for ensuring safety standards and operational clarity within the industry.”
“Angkas continues to lead the advocacy to legalize MC taxis in both Houses,” Mr. Medrana told BusinessWorld.
NO LONGER “THIRD-CLASS”
Thanks to the livelihood MC taxis provide, riders are no longer “third-class citizens,” as Roldan described.
“Kahit nasa Third World country po tayo, at kasama kami sa tinatawag na third-class citizens… e nagagawa po naming mapakain ng maayos ang aming mga anak (Riders are now able to feed their children well, even though they’re third-class citizens in a Third World country),” Roldan told BusinessWorld.
“Kaming mga rider na third-class ay kumikita na rin po kami ng sapat sa panahon ngayon (Us riders are now able to earn enough nowadays),” he said. “Kaya lakas loob ko pong naipasok sa pribadong eskwelahan yung aking anak (That’s what gave me the courage to enroll my child in a private university).”
