TRANSPORT advocacy network The Passenger Forum (TPF) called on the government’s Technical Working Group (TWG) on motorcycle (MC) taxis to ensure that riders undergo training from each MC taxi platform they represent.

TPF convener Primo Morillo said: “We have heard that some riders work for multiple apps and with the gig economy, we think they are within their rights to have partnership with all the apps they can work with. However, with the motorcycle taxi still being under a pilot study, the lines of accountability must be clear especially when accidents happen.”

TPF learned that MC taxi partner-riders maximize income potential by being “dual citizens,” their slang term for being a rider for more than one MC taxi platform.

The current pilot study allows three apps -- Angkas, Joyride, and Move It -- to operate motorcycle taxis in Metro Manila and other key cities.

“It should also be clear under what platform a rider, who is presumably involved in an accident, was last trained. While the TWG is doing everything to ensure that the trainings are standardized, various companies have distinct ways of doing things. It will certainly help the pilot study if the TWG knows who is doing great and what are the best practices from each platform’s training,” Morillo added.

The TPF convener also explained that it is better to be proactive now than to fix things when platforms are already pointing fingers at each other because an incident has already happened.

“We should not wait for the moment when we need to exact accountability from a platform. As commuters, we want to safeguard our rights not to be caught up with the process of identifying who will pay for our accident insurance when it is already needed,” Morillo said. (PR)