Angkas, the local pioneer of app-based motorcycle taxi services, has tapped the University of the Philippines-College of Public Health, or UP-CPH, to come up with a study on how to make motorcycle taxi services relatively safe amid the CoViD-19 pandemic.
At a digital press conference organized by Angkas, Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr, UP-CPH dean, said it was finalizing the recommended guidelines on health and safety protocols for motorcycle taxi services during the pandemic.
The recommended guidelines will be presented to the Congress and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF.
In tapping the UP-CPH, as well as Lee Parks, president of Total Control Training in California, a multi-awarded and well-established institution for motorcycle safety, Angkas chief transport advocate George Royeca said Angkas wanted to work with experts and stakeholders to ensure public safety in the operation of motorcycle taxis.
Royeca is hopeful that the IATF will allow and set protocols for the safe operation of motorcycle taxis as the country transitions to the new normal, especially after the IATF approved the use of the Angkas-designed protective barrier for tandem riding of couples living in the same household.
“The shield is only one aspect [of safety]. There are public health measures that need to be put in place. There are responsibilities of driver and passengers na pag-aaralan. Since na-approve ang shield, hopefully this is a path for citizens on where to go,” he said.
If experts agree, based on science and perhaps common sense, that motorcycle taxi services can be made CoViD-safe, then by all means they should be allowed to resume operations. The economy needs more and more sectors and industries, including public transport providers, back in business.