Grab seeks to revive motorcycle taxi service

Transport network company Grab Philippines on Tuesday said it is seeking the government’s green-light to revive its motorcycle taxi service.

“In light of the recent conversations around motorcycle taxis in the Philippines, Grab would like to reiterate its interest in participating in the motorcycle taxi space to help provide affordable and agile transport solutions to hundreds of thousands of Filipino commuters,” the company said in a statement.

To recall, Grab used to operate GrabBike in the Philippines until mid-2016 when the service was discontinued in compliance with the government regulations.

“As the government is seriously looking into a possible regulation for motorcycle taxis, Grab is seriously considering to re-invest in the motorcycle taxi denomination and relaunch its GrabBike service in the Philippines, with the blessing of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Department of Transportation,” it said.

“This service, in other countries where Grab is present, proves to complement TNVS (transport network vehicle service), having two very distinct market segments,” it added.

Grab said it has prepared its approach for reviving its GrabBike service, and is ready to present to the LTFRB and the DOTr “anytime it is asked to.”

On Dec. 18, 2019, the inter-agency Technical Working Group (TWG) extended the six-month pilot run of motorcycle ride-hailing operations for another three months, with the inclusion of two new players, JoyRide and Move It.

This, as the pilot run involving motorcycle taxi pioneer Angkas was about to end on Dec. 26, 2019.

The body has allowed Angkas, together with new players, to participate in the “Extended Pilot Implementation” starting Dec. 23, 2019 up to Mar. 23, 2020 with an overall allotted cap of 39,000 registered bikers —10,000 bikers per Transport Network Company (TNC) for Metro Manila and 3,000 bikers per TNC for Metro Cebu operations.

In May last year, the DOTr allowed Angkas to operate as ride-hailing motorcycle taxi for six months starting in June.

The pilot run was approved in aid of legislation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to evaluate pending bills pushing for the legalization of motorcycles as public utility vehicles (PUVs). —KBK, GMA News