WITH a new motorcycle-ride hailing application set to begin operations in Metro Cebu in the third week of February, habal-habal drivers would still fill a need for transportation to mountain barangays and in areas not served by such mobile technology.
Pastor Alcover, a former Cebu City councilor and now chairman of a motortaxi cooperative, said an official of Joyride, the new mobile phone application for hailing a motorcycle ride, told him they would help habal-habal drivers in the city.
He said Joyride will conduct conduct seminars and trainings among the habal-habal drivers during the period of their experimental operation in Metro Cebu.
He also believed habal-habal drivers will still be in demand, saying this is still the means of transportation in mountain barangays where applications like Joyride is not that popular.
“The habal-habal drivers will still be in demand in mountain barangays, especially those areas where there is no internet and apps like Joyride are not popular,” said Alcover.
Alcover said they welcome the operation, adding that it is still experimental.
Once the technical working group will favor it, Alcover is expecting some habal-habal drivers to register with the motorcycle-ride hailing app.
Through an executive order of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, the Cebu City Motor Riders Community Welfare Office (CCMRCWO) was formed as a way to regulate the operation of habal-habal in the city.
CCMRCWO is under the office of Lemar Alcover, peace and order program chairman.
He said there are around 2,000 habal-habal drivers registered with the CCMRCWO.
Lemar said the regulation is for the security and safety of the riding public.
Through CCMRCWO, the habal-habal drivers were reunited, he said.
On Jan. 5, 2020 Labella gathered the habal-habal drivers in the city and told them about the plan to turn their group into a cooperative and also to inform them of the need to undergo driving training for the safety of their passengers.
Labella said their presence is of great help because habal-habal drivers can serve as force multipliers during big events in the city like the Sinulog festival and they can help with the peace and order situation.
In the City Council, a draft ordinance set to regulate the habal-habal operation is still pending for approval. (JJL)