Angkas to Angcars: Bike taxi firm unveils new plan

Angkas, one of the pioneering local motorcycle taxi operators, is taking a major turn this year by entering the four-wheel transport network vehicle service, or TNVS, category through a service called Angcars.

Angkas CEO George Royeca already disclosed the plan to his driver partners at a recent town hall meeting, where he pointed out that the move is part of a comprehensive plan to aid the country’s modernization and stakeholder-centric enhancements in the transportation sector.

“Angcars is designed to be an advanced ride-hailing app that seamlessly blends affordability with user-friendly navigation,” Royeca said on Thursday.

Royeca also affirmed that the soon-to-be-launched mobile application will introduce options like Angcars Economy and Angcars Plus, which allow passengers to request four-seater or six-seater vehicles.

The Daily Tribune contacted the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board to verify whether the plan had been approved by the regulator, but as of the time of publication, there had been no response.

Meanwhile, for its main business the motorcycle taxi services, Royeca disclosed that new features such as Angkas Health and AngKash are underway.

Angkas Health aims to bring healthcare services to Filipino homes through a straightforward five-step process that includes home service blood testing by licensed medical professionals.

AngKash, on the other hand, seeks to address the financial inclusion issue of Angkas bikers through the introduction, which will offer low-cost loans to assist riders in acquiring or upgrading their motorcycles.

Through partnerships with automobile manufacturing giant Honda and Uno Bank, the revamped AngKash aims to extend this initiative to a larger portion of the biker fleet.

The Angkas chief also pledged to upgrade the Angkas Padala with digital seller tools, payment and disbursement access, along with nationwide courier services that address the emerging needs of the Filipino “e-preneurs”.

Royeca emphasized that the new business offerings of Angkas are part of its efforts for the homegrown company to maintain optimum efficiency by finding the right balance between manpower and service delivery, vis-à-vis operations.

Angkas, along with MOVE IT and JoyRide are the three entities legally allowed by government regulators to run as bike taxi service providers under a pilot study aimed at providing affordable, safe, and reliable transportation to thousands of daily commuters.