The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday has expressed their intent to ban all motorcycle taxis from major thoroughfares like Roxas Blvd, C5, Taft Avenue, EDSA, etc. citing safety concerns. MMDA General Manager, Jojo Garcia, said that they have already recommended this to the MC Taxi Pilot Study Technical Working Group (TWG), should a law be passed allowing them to legally operate.
“That's why, we recommended to the TWG that if MC Taxis become legal, we will not allow them to ply National Roads,” said Garcia in Filipino.
What that means is that MC Taxis will be illegal in all Radial Roads (R-1 to R10), as well as Circumferential Roads (C-1 to C-6), as well as other major thoroughfares within Metro Manila. This also means they can only use the inner roads of Metro Manila to ferry their passengers.
“You can't allow them to go side-by-side with city busses. If tricycles already have three wheels and yet they are banned from National Roads, what more for these [MC Taxis] which only have two wheels?” Garcia added.
The MMDA GM has also added that since accidents are inevitable for MC Taxis and their passengers, it can be at least mitigated or reduced if they are only to use Metro Manila's inner roads. As of this writing, nearly 47,000 MC Taxis are already registered in the Pilot Study Program out of a maximum partner-rider cap of 63,000 nationwide. The study will conclude on March 23, 2020. From there, these operators will have to wait for a law to be passed that will allow motorcycles to serve as means of public transportation.
Currently, the law prohibits motorcycles operating as public transport. The Pilot Run Implementation was conceived as a test period to temporarily allow them to operate. Data that the operators submit will be used to craft legislation for their legality. TWG will then send their recommendation to lawmakers on whether or not MC Taxis should be legalized.
