Angkas asks DOTr: Consider motorcycle-taxis as TNVS

App-based motorcycle hailing service Angkas has urged Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade to include two-wheeled vehicles under the Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) category so it can operate formally.

On the same day that Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and local government officials apprehended 19 Angkas drivers, the ride-hailing service released a statement calling on Tugade, through the LTFRB, to consider amending a department order to group motorcycle-taxis under LTFRB jurisdiction.

The Makati City government also reportedly ordered the closing down of the service for operating without a government-issued business permit in the city.

Oh my god… I’m… Ok, I’m so sorry… I… I told you that I’m so confident… Eto, ahmmmm. pic.twitter.com/WJX5SjSPUJ

— Angkas (@angkas) November 9, 2017

“On behalf of its bikers, Angkas has always been open to regulation. We believe that the motorcycle industry needs proper regulation to raise its standards of safety and quality,” the statement said.

“We hope that this unregulated sector can be professionalized and imbued with safety standards and coverage similar to that of Transport Network Vehicle Services,” it also said.

Department Order 2015-011 of the then-Department of Transportation and Communications groups sedans, Asian utility vehicles, sports utility vehicles, vans or other similar vehicles under the TNVS category.

Motorcycle-taxis, also known as habal-habal, are an unregulated and illegal mode of transport, despite being widely used in rural areas and increasingly in urban locales. They are considered colorum, a term used for public utility vehicles operating without a franchise.

Tugade himself scolded DOTr Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Thomas Orbos for riding a habal-habal to reach an event of the agency on time.

The statement further claimed Angkas bikers receive free safety training and assessment, customer service training, and safety gear. Bikers and passengers alike receive personal accident insurance, it said.

Angkas also said it is open to dialogues with the LTFRB, adding that they “regret” not being able to meet with LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada on Thursday when she and other officials visited the Angkas Training Center along Chino Roces Avenue in Makati.

“We regret that we were not able to welcome and dialogue with Atty. Lizada, but we look forward to discussing the Board’s concerns with Angkas and find a way towards regulation for this space,” the statement said. —Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/KG, GMA News