Philstar.com
January 22, 2020 | 2:25pm
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 2:31 p.m.) — The Department of Transportation's technical working group (TWG) and motorcycle hailing apps have come to an agreement to increase the cap of bikers.
Rep. Edgar Sarmiento (Samar), chair of the House transportation committee, announced that the TWG and players Angkas, JoyRide and Move It agreed to increase the cap of riders from 30,000 to 63,000.
The three motorcycle hailing apps also agreed to expand the pilot testing area to Cagayan de Oro. The new limit will be 45,000 for Metro Manila (15,000 per app), 9,000 in Cebu (3,000 per app) and 9,000 in Cagayan de Oro (3,000 per app).
The pilot testing in Metro Manila, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro will run until March 20.
The House panel clarified that there will be no apprehension of motorcyle taxis as the test run will continue until next month.
Sarmiento said there will be no arrest of Angkas, JoyRide and Move It riders until laws regulating motorcyle taxi services are passed.
TWG chair Antonio Gardiola Jr. earlier announced that the pilot test run would be terminated by next week.
The TWG, however, decided to continue its pilot study in the meantime while studying the legality of motorcycle taxis.
Sen. Grace Poe criticized the initial recommendation of the TWG to terminate the study without presenting any data to the Senate in an inquiry earlier this week.
The recommendation also included blacklisting Angkas from operating in the country for supposedly violating the TWG's guidelines.
Angkas, meanwhile, has agreed to drop all legal charges they filed against the TWG. — Patricia Lourdes Viray
