Cebu to legalize habal-habal via “Uber Motorcycles”?

It looks like residents and visitors of Cebu City will soon be able to book a quick habal-habal ride through their mobile phones.

Credit: Tommy Osmeña Facebook page

Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña has brought to Facebook its announcement or rather a teaser to legalize and regulate habal-habals roaming around the streets of his city.

It is my goal to legalize and regulate the habal-habal industry to make it safer for everyone. There is no denying that habal-habals are a necessary part of everyday life for many Cebuanos, so the best thing we can do is improve it as best as we can. We will make it safer, more efficient, and get the drivers to actually follow traffic laws, all with a more affordable rate.

Of course, it is difficult to convince the drivers to just turn themselves in for regulation. We have to have something to offer.

In the photo he posted, he’s talking to Atty. Yves Gonzales, Uber Philippines Head of Government Relations and Public Policy. The post has an intro of “Uber Motorcycles – convenient, affordable, and safe.” No additional info is available for now from either the local government or Uber Philippines, but we do hope to get more deets of this upcoming service.

Grab used to operate habal-habal dubbed GrabBike as part of its services. Eventually, it got defunct. The only habal-habal booking service we know operating is Angkas which operates in most cities within Metro Manila.