The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has reportedly issued a P555.75 million fine to motorcycle-taxi platform Move It. According to separate reports from Inquirer.Net and the Philippine Star, Move It Philippines exceeded its allotted rider count by 55,575 operators.
As per said reports, the app was only supposed to enlist 17,746 riders under the LTFRB’s Motorcycle Taxi Pilot Program. This comprises Move It’s operations in Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Cagayan de Oro City. However, the platform will now need to pay P10,000 for each of the 55,575 excess riders.
Moving forward, the LTRFB declared that Move It will be allowed to continue its operations under its original rider count of 17,746. That entails 14,662 Move It riders in Metro Manila, 2,753 in Cebu, and the remaining 361 in Cagayan de Oro.
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This comes as the latest installment in the ongoing saga between legislation and motorcycle-taxi operators. In 2019, an initial pilot run saw a 63,000-rider allotment among three major platforms.
During that time, Angkas was threatened with termination, while other platforms were facing closure as the testing period had its own uncertainties. The Department of Transportation and the LTFRB had discussed closing the pilot run early, which would have effectively banned motorcycle-taxis in the Philippines. This was due to alleged violations committed by operators and the pilot run’s disorganized implementation.
However, as you can probably tell, the apps continue to operate, and similar regulations are still being enforced. Hopefully, we’ll see harmony between the platforms and the concerned government agencies in the near future.
