Good to Know: Habal-Habal, The Two Wheeled Taxi

newkidintown (52)in #steemiteducation • 7 years ago

On the subject of Public Transportation, in the Philippines, there is one that is on the rise of becoming a commute of choice for the Filipinos.

Just an ordinary bike

What you see before you, is a means of transporting people with the use of the motorcycle. Sounds like the exercise of the real purpose of the vehicle. You are very correct, it really is just that. Compared to first world and developing countries, where big bikes (The likes of Ducati or BMW or Kawasaki, to name a few) reigns supreme. For the 3rd world countries, we make do with what we can afford. As such is the purchase of motorcycle bikes where the quantities are ever so increasing.

In the Philippines, not only do we buy it for private uses. We invest in it and earn from it. And doing that to the humble motorcycle paved the way for what we now know in the Philippines as Habal-Habal.

NOTE: Habal-Habal is how it is called in the provinces particularly to the Visayas and Mindanao regions. There maybe other terminologies elsewhere, but the process of how the Habal-Habal works is more likely the same. I do not speak in behalf of all Filipinos, clearly this is just my observation and perception of the said mode of public transportation. And since I have been living in Cebu, this is clearly just my 2 cents.

Habal-Habal

The Habal-habal, works like a taxi in the essence of getting to where you are headed to straight to the doorstep. Though it doesn't have a meter, payment works like an agreement. Agree to a place where you will be going to, agree how much you will be paying for the trip.

Habal-Habal is a type of transportation that has been used in provincial places, where the likes of motorcycles are faster and more accessible to have. These types of transportation can actually get to mountainous areas and is said to bring about plenty of people at a time.

Nowadays, their popularity is exceeding that of the taxi as they come at a cheaper price. Their quantities are ever increasing, as they really are not considered an "official public transportation", meaning no registrations, no fees, no licenses nor franchises. And obviously, motorcycles are way more cheaper than actual taxi units.

At the end of the day, Habal-habal is basically just an UBER service for motorcycles. Using your private vehicle for the benefit of others, one could simple say, this is just a matter of carpooling, in this case "motorcyclepooling".

What makes Habal-habal so special?

When I initially talked about jeepneys being a byproduct of the Filipino's thrifty trait, where you make use of what you have, and if you can, make the most out of it (financially). Though, motorcycles are a cheaper way to move about the city, the Filipinos used that as an agent to make money. Not only do they supply a motorcycle for themselves to roam around, they get to earn from it - typical win-win approach towards an investment.

I could really not say for sure if our whole public transportation is a product of that Filipino trait, but with the Jeepneys and the Habal-habals, it all makes sense.

CONS

I have praised the Habal-habal for a good while now, but that is all there is to it really. So just to summarize, it is cheap, easy to get by traffic jams, no bullcrap agreements, fast, and gets you on the front door. Those pretty much sums up what is good about the whole system.

Now with good comes the opposite and I will enumerate some as they go:

• The habal-habal, without registration, franchise, or licenses - they are not regulated. It is difficult to identify the driver's credibility, and at times, a I've heard, there are plenty of robberies happening on a supposed habal-habal trip.

• The motorcycle is something that is easy to teach and learn. It is affordable and very attainable for the pocket and is very tempting for the unqualified to purchase. It is easy to persuade a person to earn money via an acquired motorcycle, at the expense of a possibility to lose a life whose going to ride at your back.

• Being a 2 wheeled vehicle, when accidents occur, it is most usually fatal for the one riding the motorcycle than that who is riding a car. Apart from that, in the Philippines, not all provinces agree on having helmets on motorcycle riders. Some would require helmets for drivers but doesn't require them for the passengers. This inconsistency increases fatality rates in motor vehicular accidents concerning 2 wheeled vehicles.

• Habal-Habal is illegal. As such, it is not running off on a franchise. Plenty of times they are seen scramming off, when a raid is in effect. Not only that, the accumulations of road violations the Habal-Habal would have just sitting on the side walk waiting for the next passenger is a lot.

These are some of the cons one would have from a passenger perspective to the Habal-habal.

FINISH LINE!

Apart from the Jeepney, the Habal-Habal is also something I cherish in life. This mode of transportation has sent me to school or work countless of times. Living in a place where, it is unreachable by Jeepney routes, the Habal-habal is the method with which I get to travel to and from the house at dawn.

I have also been blessed with great drivers that have sent me to wherever I have them send me. After all those years using their services, I am yet to encounter an accident with me as the passenger.

It's been awhile, but having to work from home, pretty much does not take me anywhere. And when I do, I have @shote.said take me wherever anyway. I wonder when I will be able to again. Maybe for a short trip to the wet market soon.

One last thing before I wrap things up. Just a Fun Fact.

Habal-Habal is derived from the word Habal, which, in Cebuano, is "To Mate" synonym to Sex. I don't know how that happend, but surely it's a funny thing to know about.

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