House transport panel chair calls for restoration of Move It-Grab partnership

The chairman of the House Committee on Transportation is calling on the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to reconsider its earlier decision to defer the partnership between Grab and Move It.

In a statement, Samar Rep. Edgar Sarmiento said regulators must provide equal opportunities to all motorcycle taxi providers to “avoid creating a monopoly or duopoly that will only bring harm to the riding public.”

The lawmaker was responding to a decision by the DOTr’s Motorcycle Taxi Technical Working Group (TWG) deferring the partnership

“We need public transportation especially during these times… I hope that all applications by all motorcycle taxis we use now will be considered,” Sarmiento said.

The Move It-Grab partnership allows users of Grab’s app to tap Move It’s services. 

Grab’s platform currently lets its users hail a car or van, order food online, or have parcels delivered, but not get a ride on a motorcycle.

Sarmiento said the TWG’s decision left just JoyRide and Angkas as the only ride-hailing firms allowed to join the government’s motorcycle taxi pilot study.

The lawmaker said this was not in line with conclusions reached by the House transport committee’s own technical working group.

“We studied this proposed law on motorcycle taxis, and it is clear that the goal is fair competition. No one should be favored.  The platform that will be used online won’t just be the platform of a chosen one,” he said.

“We are applying the equality clause of the Constitution,” Sarmiento addedy, pointing out that the goal was to allow motorcycle taxi firms to offer services across platforms.

“We don’t want a repeat of the situation where one company was stuck to just one platform. They can choose. There’s no restriction,” the lawmaker said.

In an earlier statement, Move It claimed that the suspension of its partnership with Grab “was orchestrated by a number of stakeholders in the Motorbike Taxi Pilot against Move It — the smallest player in the pilot.”

The company said it has been transparent and forthcoming with its dealings with the TWG and other stakeholders, noting that its partnership with Grab has gone through several rounds of discussions with the TWG.

Nonetheless, the DOTr said Move It and Gran can appeal the deferment of their partnership. 

Grab has said it is looking forward to resuming its partnership with Move It. —Ted Cordero/KBK, GMA News