Habal-Habal: Characteristics of Motorcycle Taxi Users in Metropolitan Manila

Abstract

Motorcycle taxi services in the Philippines (locally referred to as habal-habal) has been deemed to be operating only in rural areas wherein public transportation is inadequate or is utterly absent. It is also perceived as illegal and unsafe for urban operations, especially in a conurbation like Metro Manila wherein more than 30% of recorded fatal road accidents come from motorcycles. However, the worsening traffic congestion in the metropolis has spurred its growing urban presence and has led the attention of commuters to alternative modes of transport that are fast, reliable, and affordable. Inadequate understanding of habal-habal’s role in the urban transportation context could render it as a risk than a service to the commuting public. It is imperative for authorities to understand the fundamentals of habal-habal operations before formulating or implementing policies in order to avoid complications and redundancy in the existing public transportation structure. Discrete choice modeling was utilized in order to adequately gauge the factors that significantly affect the mode choice probabilities of commuters. Empirical results suggest that trip-related characteristics, such as distance and purpose, are perceived by urban commuters as motivating factors for choosing habal-habal services over conventional modes of transport. This research and its findings are significant as it provides the fundamental understanding on urban habal-habal users that is needed for policy formulation or emendation.