Angkas appeals to LTFRB to reconsider problematic policies for the service

Motorcyle taxi Angkas has sent an appeal letter to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board regarding their concerns on the “problematic” new provisions for the transport service provider.

Angkas Regulatory and Public Affairs head George Royeca addressed the letter to LTFRB’s Motorcycle Taxi Technical Working Group  chair Antonio Gardiola, Jr. dated December 20.

In the appeal letter, Royeca questioned at least six new provisions for motor cycle taxi pilots.

These include setting an arbitrary cap of 30,000 bikers for Metro Manila and 9,000 for Metro Cebu, the safety concerns in welcoming two “untested” new players among others.

In the appeal letter, Royeca said people will switch back to habal-habal as demand far outstrips supply with the cap set by the TWG.

“This is exactly what happened when Angkas suspended operations the last 2 times. Passengers who can’t book Angkas often turn to habal-habal instead,” he said.

“Habal-habal is non-monitored, uninsured, and lack of proper gear and training. Every Angkas ride that becomes habal-habal increases the risk of commuters accidents and fatalities,” he added.

The LTFRB set a cap of 30,000 bikers for Metro Manila and 9,000 for Metro Cebu, which will be split evenly among competitors.

Currently, Angkas has 27,000 operating partner-bikers. With the cap, Angkas will have to cut 17,000 of its biker-partners to comply with the provision.

This concern prompted the motorcycle taxi pioneer to hold a unity rally on Sunday in Quezon City.

Angkas also sees safety issues in having two new players to provide the service. According to Angkas, these new players—JoyRide and Move It— are untested with real on-ground experience.

Royeco said it took Angkas 3 years to learn how to manage 27,000 bikers but the new players are expected to handle 10,000 in 3 months.

“Joy Ride claims to already have 7,000 bikers fully accredited to operate after only three months in operation. While this does not mean they are less safe, the TWG should be more cautious given these seemingly lower standards,” Royeca suggested.

“While Angkas has trained 117,000 in 3 years, it has failed over 70% of that to ensure very high and stringent standards resulting in only 27,000 remaining bikers to date,” Royeca noted.

Aside from these, Angkas appealed to the LTFRB the omission of the motorcycle taxi’s proposal to require participating companies to have dedicated Emergency Response Team with proper qualifications.

Angkas’ also wanted LTFRB to reconsider the ride-hailing firm’s proposal to build their network of partner hospitals and doctors, which is also not included in the new provisions.

The ride-hailing pioneer has a network of 8-affiliate hospitals and 12 on-call doctors.

“These hospitals ensure no down payment is required from any Angkas passenger or biker involved in an accident before care is administered, and the on-call doctors ensure a high standard of care is maintained to minimize further stress to the victim,” Royeca said.

Angkas also requested LTFRB to reconsider the suggestion of setting up a fund to advance accident payments as well as the need to shift to working with insurance consortium (PAMI or SCCI) for PUVs to financially support accidents.

The arbitrary capping of motorcycle engine max to 150cc was also among Angkas’ appeals to the LTFRB.

“About 30% of our bikers own a bike between 155-200cc, yet proportionally, they represent a smaller portion of accidents. This means that the LTFRB is in fact reducing the safest bikes on the road with this rule,” Royeca said.

“Higher cc bikes also tend to come with better features related to passenger comfort and safety that make the overall experience more pleasant,” he pointed out. —Joviland Rita/LBG, GMA News