Besides the many traffic violations, the team of EDSA boss, Edison “Bong” Nebrija, have also been serious in catching illegal habal-habal services that ply through their jurisdiction.
According to Nebrija, these illegal habal-habal riders deprive the legal motorcycle taxis of livelihood. In addition, they compete with jeepneys, tricycles, and other forms of transport by stealing their would-be passengers.
A habal-habal is like a motorcycle taxi, but has no permits, insurance, or other pertinent government requirements to operate.
Today, the EDSA boss shared another encounter with a habal-habal they caught during one of their operations. A passenger who just alighted from a habal-habal was crying when the MMDA chanced upon them. Apparently, the passenger and the habal-habal rider agreed to a PHP 50.00 fare from Monumento, in Caloocan, up to North Avenue (near SM) in Quezon City.
As it turns out, the rider meant PhP 50.00/ kilometer, so that means the 5-kilometer, 10-minute ride totaled to a whopping PhP 250.00. The passenger could’ve paid less if she hailed a legitimate air-conditioned taxi cab.
“Mapaglinlang po talaga yan kaya magiingat po kayo. At baka sa susunod, san-san na lang kayo ibaba nyan, kayo rin! (These guys are really deceptive, that’s why you should be careful. Because next time, who knows where they could just drop you off. It's your risk.)
If you were to book a legitimate form of public transport service for a similar route, it would amount to much less than the passenger paid. The fare for such a 5-kilometer ride would only range anywhere between PhP 129.00 to PhP 135.00 if it was booked from any of the legitimate motorcycle taxi apps. That’s a far cry from the PhP 250.00 this rider tried to squeeze from his passenger.
Would you still patronize these illegal habal-habal services?
