Angkas to LTFRB: We want the Pilot Run to be successful as well
The chief transport advocate of Angkas held a press conference, all-alone, yesterday in Makati City. George Royeca, faced the press without the usual support group around him.
Royeca did a more than one-hour press conference which started with a written statement, but his message to the government is clear: we will continue to work with government regulators and we are not against them.
“First off, I would like to commend the government for seriously considering motorcycle taxis as an added transport option for Filipino commuters amid the ongoing traffic crisis,” Royeca stressed. “We are also hopeful that lawmakers will find merit in what we have been espousing all these months—that motorcycle taxis are crucial to addressing our countrymen’s mobility problems,” he added.
Royeca also prepared a presentation which of the Angkas Pilot Run results which he said will be presented to LTFRB as well. In the middle of the press conference, he also said that the surge pricing of Angkas will be suspended effective immediately.
The suspension of surge pricing was confirmed by Tech Patrol when it was able to secure a copy of the memorandum to riders prepared by David Medrano. [Source]
Angkas presented that out of more than 117k Angkas bikers, only 26k plus passed the selection process of the company.
The failure rate among the applicants is 63%.
During the Pilot Run, Angkas also did extra efforts in making sure that their bikers are assisted. They were assisting around 360 bikers daily, and during the pilot run, around 20,000 bikers are retrained. The company also put up 50 field support and retraining activities during the pilot run.
To make sure Angkas bikers will go out in the streets as professional motorcycle taxi riders, Angkas hired trainers from a US firm that trains the US Marines and it was also complemented by the PNP HPG.
Royeca also clarified that the Angkas in General Santos City and Cagayan De Oro has been stopped already.
Here’s the full video of the press conference.
The real issue about the riders cap
“So, again, I would like to emphasize that our fight is with a particular provider and not with the government bodies. Our fight is with the riders cap—an unfair and anti-competitive provision that will effectively punish the majority of our riders who have been working hard for six months,” he noted.
“What we really want is to have the cap removed or increase the cap for all motorcycle taxi providers, not just Angkas because the market is still terribly underserved and we need more bikers on the road,” Royeca emphasized.
“We will try our best to be compliant with government rules and regulations,’ Royeca declared. “And I would like to reinforce on public record that we have always and will continue to work with government regulators and not against them. But on the same breath, we ask for fairness, in consideration of all the hard work we have done to comply with government regulators since last year.”
