The government has ordered an online transport firm to cease from offering the use of bikes or motorcycles as a mode of public transportation until the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) have promulgated guidelines to authorize the service.
The LTFRB found out that MyTaxi.PH is advertising and offering ?GrabBike? as mode of public transportation although the company is only accredited to offer Transport Network Vehicles (TNVS) using their digital platform technology pursuant to Department Order (DO) No. 2015-011.
?We will not tolerate Transportation Network Companies to provide transport service using motorcycles or bikes until we have set the proper guidelines and regulations,? Winston Ginez, LTFRB chairman, said.
The DO does not cover the operation of a GrabBike through the use of an Internet-based technology platform to facilitate a pre-arranged transportation for passengers.
The LTFRB, through OIC executive director Glenn Zaragosa, directed MyTaxi.PH to cease within five days from the receipt of the letter dated January 21, 2016 from offering the public the use of bikes and motorcycles as transportation mode.
Zaragosa also directed MyTaxi.PH to explain in writing why the company is engaging in a service that is yet authorized by LTFRB. Failure of the company to comply with the directives will cause the Board to cancel the accreditation of MyTaxi.PH as a TNC.
?We will have no option but to cancel MyTaxi.PH?s accreditation if they continue to offer motorcycle transport service which is not part of its business model and not what the Board had envisioned for TNCs and TNVS,? said Ginez.
According to the World Health Organization?s (WHO) 2015 road safety report, 1.25 million people have died globally due to road accidents, with motorcyclists comprising 23% of deaths.
The WHO report also said that more than half (53%) of those who die in road accidents in the Philippines are motorcycle riders.
A leading builder of Japanese motorcycles and motorcycle parts also cited that motorcycle accidents account for the number four cause of death in the Philippines.
The motorcycle maker said that there are 3.4 million motorcycle users in the Philippines and most of them are beginners. Because motorcycle is the most economical and easiest means of transportation to beat traffic congestion in the city, they are also involved in alarming statistics on motorcycle accidents in the country.
The Japanese motorcycle builder?s survey shows that an average of 16,208 motorcycle accidents is recorded in the country every year.
Despite the implementation of the helmet law in the country, motorcycles have the highest fatality accident rate in Metro Manila from January to November 2015, according to statistics compiled by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority?s (MMDA) Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMARAS) Database.
The MMARAS database also shows that of the 696 road fatalities recorded in that period, 236 were due to motorcycle accidents. The database also recorded a total of 166,883 vehicles involved in road accidents in Metro Manila, with motorcycles coming in second with 18,482, next to private cars (81,837).