EARLIER this week, two of the country's motorcycle taxi services, Angkas and Move It, were summoned by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to explain their apparent breach of the cap on the number of riders allowed under the Department of Transportation's (DOTr) 'motorcycle taxi pilot study,' which is being led by the LTFRB. The issue is a controversy that is entirely of the government's own manufacture and simply demonstrates once again that the LTFRB, and by extension the DOTr, has yet to grasp that carrying out the mandate to develop and regulate transportation is a public service rather than an administrative duty.

Under the current limits, according to the LTFRB, there should only be 45,000 motorcycle taxis in Metro Manila, along with 9,000 each in Metro Cebu and Cagayan de Oro. These are divided among the three main motorcycle taxi services, Angkas, which is the largest; Move It, which is a subsidiary of ride-sharing and delivery company Grab; and Joyride. In recent statements to the media from LTFRB chief and motorcycle taxi technical working group (MC Taxi TWG) chairman Teofilo Guadiz III, Angkas has more than 27,000 riders, while Move It has 17,000. Joyride apparently has not exceeded its quota of 15,000, and so has not been called out by the LTFRB.