Angkas lowers riders’ commission by 2%, seeks for more visibility

Angkas CEO George Royeca has committed to reducing the company’s commission from 20 percent to 18 percent to help riders mitigate the impact of ongoing fuel price hikes.

"We will lower our commission for all of our bikers from 20 percent down to 18 percent while still maintaining the tiered commission scheme of 15 percent up to zero percent as added incentives of our bikers during the crisis,” Royeca said Wednesday afternoon in the House of Representatives’ Legislative Energy Action and Development hearing.

Aside from the lowered commission, Royeca expressed that their employees are also granted gas and food vouchers alongside additional discounts from their gas station partners.

Royeca mentioned that the decision is backed by consultations with the Angkas team, 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, FPJ Panday Bayanihan Partylist Rep. Brian Lamanzares and their company’s backbone, the riders.

Alongside any other public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, Royeca also echoed the calls for lower gas prices for them.

“Maybe we can conduct a study for lower gasoline prices for public utility vehicles, there are many gas (3:24) stations that have an app and that can track it properly,” he shared.

Royeca then took his time to backtrack his experiences in leading the sector for more than nine years, citing the hard-hitting pandemic which also affected them and the riders who depend on the application.

He mentioned that Angkas singlehandedly shouldered support for their riders for two years, which wiped the company out financially.

“This is the time for us to recuperate (from the pandemic losses), but unfortunately, the crisis is also affecting us,” he said.

The Angkas co-founder also criticized an unnamed competing ride-hailing application which to his account, fields 250,000 units of bikers, much higher than the 15,000 authorized cap.

“I hope the company that violates the policy will be held accountable. We have been in the industry for more than nine years, and our historical onboarded bikers did not reach 100,000,” he expressed.

“It's a pity for us who are complying. That's what we fought for almost a decade to have regulations and that the government will recognize all motorcycle taxi bikers,” he added.