Going Loco(Motion)

Get ready to the new ways of moving on land, sea, and air

- Johannes L. Chua

Fifty percent. That would be the byword in the coming weeks and months as long as there is the lingering threat of an unseen virus. Occupancy in restaurants or coffee shops would already be considered “full” once it reaches the 50 percent threshold. Ditto also with retail spaces, parlors, spas, and every venue where people used to converge in huge numbers in the pre-Covid era.

The 50 percent capacity limit will also apply on all modes of transport. The latest guidelines from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) reveal how people will move from one point to another. “Bleak” as the guidelines may be, especially for those who rely on maximum numbers to make a trip worth it such as planes, buses, or jeepneys, it may be for the best for the majority in the meantime.

As areas graduate from MECQ to GCQ, from GCQ to the new normal, these are the expected “changes,” we will experience when we move around.

Motorcycle/ Scooter

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is still insisting that there shouldn’t be two passengers on board, even if they are married couples. This may change as cities gradually enter the new normal.

This two-person prohibition also applies to services such as Angkas, though their drivers can do deliveries instead with only the driver onboard.

For tricycles with a sidecar, only one passenger is allowed. A plastic cover must serve as partition between driver and passenger.

Bike/ E-bike