A TECHNICAL working group (TWG), created by Department of Transportation, has been meeting since Friday (Jan. 18) to draft rules on which motorcycles are considered safe for commuters. That, and which roads on which they will be allowed and standards of training.
DOTr will then decide whether the two-wheeled vehicles are fit for public transport.
True, the House, in a resolution, earlier asked DOTr to allow motorcycles for hire to return on the streets until Congress will amend the law that bans them. A request, not an order, depending on what the TWG, composed of motorcycle and commuter safety advocates, will recommend.
Premature cheering
The speech of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña before the House committee on Metro Manila development may have set off premature cheering by sympathizers of motorcycles for hire.
The House merely asked DOTr. And because of the request, DOTr may allow the temporary return of Angkas and “habal-habal” drivers to the business of ferrying passengers. Or DOTr may refuse and would rather wait for a full-blown debate on the issue in Congress after the elections.
Politicians’ pressure
The pressure on the House is apparently due to the coming elections. Congressmen and mayors running for reelection expect to benefit from the bulk votes of organized drivers.
Mayor Osmeña did not make a big show of his support to Angkas on purely civic passion; he wants the vote and wants his rivals to eat their heart out as they watch the support swing to him.
Public safety
The issue before TWG and DOTr for now is limited to public safety. Surely it’s not about whether Angkas and “habal-habal” should be treated differently under the department’s temporary order.
Alcover’s concern, raised in a Jan. 8 speech before the City Council, that Angkas and “habal-habal” are placed on the same level may not be the concern of the ad hoc rules, if ever temporary operation is allowed.
The planned rules, being restricted to public safety, would have the same standards on the motorcycles used and the same requirements on drivers’ qualifications and practice.
Different practices
The bill filed by Rep. Raul del Mar says “Angkas or habal-habal” and doesn’t distinguish between the two groups of drivers. The two groups use the same means of transportation: motorcycles, with two wheels, as distinguished from cars, jeepneys and buses.
What makes Angkas different from “habal-habal”?
Angkas has high-tech app for hailing and responding. Standards for driver’s experience, training and behavior. Requirements on motorcycle used and the motorist’s equipment. Giving Angkas the advantage, the cutting edge.
Which would make Angkas drivers qualify faster for the temporary operation, if DOTr would allow it, or its regular operation, if Congress would amend the law.
They need help
“Habal-habal” drivers, who operate individually and are left to their own devices. Either the city helps them or some private entrepreneur organizes them into a group similar to Angkas. If and when they are legalized, use of motorcycles for hire, being deemed generally unfit for public transport, will have to be supported by a clutch of requirements on passenger safety. And “habal-habal” drivers, in their present state, may not be ready to meet the standards.
Politicians, concentrating on the prospect of votes in May, may have overlooked the disparity between Angkas and “habal-habal” drivers. In that sense of inequality, Jun Alcover was right.