Commuters face difficulties in booking rides on the ride-hailing app Angkas beginning Monday after an inter-agency body ordered to cut the firm’s motorcycle taxi fleet by two-thirds.

Angkas Operations Head David Medrana said while the firm’s mobile application and its services have not been suspended, commuters are likely to experience service disruptions because not all the 27,000 Angkas bikers are present on the roads every day.

“An average biker (works) three to four days. On an average day, a rider can only work for four hours. This is because 90 percent of our bikers are only part-time workers,” Medrana told reporters in a press briefing in Quezon City on Sunday.

Angkas chief transport advocate George Royeca warned commuters may be forced to switch back to habal-habal as demand far outstrips supply.

“This is exactly what happened when Angkas suspended operations the last two times. Passengers who can’t book Angkas often turn to habal-habal instead. Habal-habal is unmonitored, uninsured and lack proper gear and training,” Royeca said.

“Every Angkas ride that becomes habal-habal increases the risk of commuter accident and fatalities,” he added.

On Sunday, Angkas mounted a protest rally to express their sentiments on the 17,000 biker-partners who stand to lose their livelihood once the extended pilot run begins.

The new pilot run limits the number of motorcycle taxis to 10,000 per transport network company (TNC).

Royeca said the “peaceful protest” is also a call on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to publicly present its decision to change the company’s fleet cap to accommodate new players.

“We want to know what happened during their secret meeting. The motorcycle taxi is not a business, it a service. I hope they do not turn the pilot program into a business,” Royeca said.

In a statement late Saturday, the technical working group (TWG) said there will actually be more motorcycle taxis operating next year since new TNC MoveIt and JoyRide are part of the agency’s safety study through a pilot run of their services.

“From Angkas’ 27,000, the number will rise to 39,000 with riders from the new providers,” TWG for MC taxis chairman Antonio Gardiola said.

This is in compliance with the TWG’s limit of 10,000 riders in Manila and 3,000 riders in Cebu per service provider.

But Royeca maintained the TWG’s decision indicate irregularities that may even be linked to corruption.

“We are okay and we welcome competition but not at the expense of the safety of the riding public. That is not right and that is not pro-competition, that is corruption,” Royeca said.