RIDE-hailing app Angkas hopes the government will extend its provisional operations pending the issuance of a clear set of rules and regulations on motorcycle taxis, as well as a law that legalizes the service.
George Royeca, who cofounded the tech-enabled transport app with his wife, said his group, in a recent meeting with members of the technical working group (TWG), has sounded off the government on its intention to continue operating beyond the six-month provisional testing period for motorcycle taxi services.
“The department order provides for extension. Hopefully, we can get a positive recommendation from the TWG,” he said in an interview. “We hope to continue the service for the public.”
The provisional operation of Angkas is set to be terminated on December 26, a day after Christmas. To recall, the government, due to public clamor, decided to test—in the absence of legislation allowing such—the operations of motorcycle taxis in the Philippines for six months from June 26.
To date, the government has yet to craft a set of rules and regulations for motorcycle taxi services. Royeca hopes that the government will see the value that his group brings to the transport industry, especially since traffic levels in the country are expected to continue worsening with the Christmas rush.
“We’ve been working very closely with the regulators. From the very beginning, what we have been fighting for is the regulation of motorcycle taxis. It’s all about making it into law, and we won’t stop until there’s a law regulating us,” he said.
Royeca hopes to present his group’s operational statistics to lawmakers in January.
Angkas will join the Institute of Corporate Directors’ (ICD) 2020 Corporate Governance Conference to discuss the use of the platform as a “tool for good governance, and compliance with safety standards and regulations.”
Image credits: Roy Domingo/Jonathan Enriquez