Last week, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority announced that together with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, it would allow and facilitate carpooling among motorists with prvate vehicles to help mitigate the effects of the seemingly non-stop fuel-price hikes. Now, the agencies have held a press conference along with the Land Transportation Office to discuss the matter while the guidelines are being drafted.
During the presscon, MMDA chairman Atty. Don Artes clarified that all motorists are eligible to apply for the carpooling program, whether as part of a bigger company or as an individual. However, he emphasized that the carpooling system will only be operating as point-to-point vehicles in nature.
“’Di pwedeng magsasakay-magbababa sa iba-ibang lugar,” said Artes. “Hindi po pwede ’yung parang namamasada na pi-pick up along the way. Kumbaga may isang pick-up point, isang drop-off point lang po.”
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Artes also added that there will only be two time slots for each vehicle—one in the morning, one in the afternoon or the evening. This way, motorists will not be able to abuse the privilege and ultimately, not compete with existing public transport vehicles for profit.
“Hindi po dapat siya mag-function nang tulad ng regular na bumabiyahe [na pampublikong transportasyon] natin dahil ayaw din naman po natin na makaagaw ng pasahero noong mga legitimate na may prangkisa at bumabiyahe tulad ng mga jeepneys, buses, and ’yung mga UV Express natin,” Artes added.
As for the fare structure, the MMDA and the LTO clarified that the motorists enlisting in the carpooling program should not overcharge their passengers. “Sana hindi gawing for-profit. Kung meron man, siyempre kailangan ma-recover ’yung pang-gasolina, pang-maintenance nung sasakyan, and then ’yung pang-parking niya siguro dahil kung magdadala siya ng sasakyan,” said Artes.
The Automobile Association of the Philippines suggested that passengers can bring their company IDs so authorities can easily identify their destinations and verify the legitimacy of the carpool. UV Express owners, meanwhile, expressed concerns on how this carpooling system can compete with their operations, but the MMDA and LTO were quick to reiterate that limiting the allowed trips per motorist and vehicle will prevent that.
Angkas, meanwhile, floated the idea of offering discounted trips from designated drop-off rates so its motorcycle-taxis can serve the ‘last-mile fulfillment’ for commuters. The company is also willing to offer lower fees from pick-up bays for MC taxis. As for Grab, it put forward its existing Group Ride feature, which allows booking of rides by multiple passengers from different locations headed to the same destination or from the same location headed to different destinations.
We’ve yet to see how these suggestions and discussions from this morning will affect the final guidelines, and we still don’t know how exactly motorists can acquire Special Permits. But as the agencies mentioned, these are being drafted as of this moment—expect important updates soon.
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