Amid the wrangling about motorcycle taxis, Grab Philippines has renewed its interest to revive its GrabBike service. It announced on Tuesday that it wants to bring back GrabBike to provide “affordable and agile transport solutions” to Filipino commuters.
“As the government is seriously looking into possible regulation for motorcycle taxis, Grab is seriously considering to re-invest in the motorcycle taxi denomination and relaunch its GrabBike service in the Philippines, with the blessing of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr),” the company said in a statement.
The ride-hailing platform discontinued its GrabBike service in mid-2016 in compliance with government regulations.
According to Grab, the revival of its motorcycle taxi service is expected to complement the transport network vehicle service by offering two distinct market services.
“Grab has prepared its approach for reviving its GrabBike service, and is ready to present to the LTFRB and the DOTr anytime it is asked to,” the company added.
The government’s technical working group decided to extend the pilot run of motorycle taxis in the country for three months.
Currently, Angkas, JoyRide and MoveIt have been allowed to participate in the test run from Dec. 23, 2019 to March 23, 2020.
Six companies applied to be part of the pilot run to compete with Angkas. However, only JoyRide and Move were approved after evaluation and inspection of the TWG.
