Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 18) — Companies that are part of the ongoing motorcycle taxi pilot study are urging the government to allow helmet sharing, which has been prohibited to stem coronavirus transmission.
Angkas, Joy Ride and Move It, the firms sanctioned to provide motorcycle taxi services amid the pandemic, requested that they be permitted to share helmets with passengers, subject to strict disinfection procedures.
The three players believe this “could lift the burden among frequent riders, especially workers, of buying a personal helmet,” said the Department of Transportation’s motorcycle taxi technical working group (TWG) in a position paper dated Nov. 16.
In pushing for the amendments to protocols, the TWG noted that the companies also cited the decline in COVID-19 cases nationwide. They also said they believe COVID-19 spread could still be prevented through other measures, such as sanitation of helmets or mandatory use of disposable helmet liners.
Additionally, the motorcycle taxi service providers are requesting that fully vaccinated drivers seeking to join the pilot run be allowed to present their vaccination certificates instead of negative RT-PCR test results.
The TWG endorsed both proposals, which it submitted to the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
