Angkas rules out holiday surge rate

Easy ride Members of Angkas assured commuters that fares will remain fair even during the Christmas rush. jon gamboa

While other transport network players may slap passengers with higher surge charges during the holiday season, motorcycle ride-hailing service provider Angkas on Wednesday ruled out such adjustments in their operations.

This was announced by George Royeca, chief transport advocate of Angkas, who said they will maintain “dynamic pricing” in the upcoming Christmas holidays.

“We (will) just maintain the existing parameters that we have. We hope to service a portion of the demand as it grows, especially going into the Christmas season,” Royeca told reporters in a round-table discussion in Makati.

“We are already seeing some increases in traffic congestion and also the demand. We have a way to make sure our service levels are at par with adequate standards and services of the commuters.

Angkas is currently navigating certain legal matters following the Department of Transportation’s (DoTr) greenlighting the 6-month pilot operation of motorcycle taxis. During the period, the DoTr will gather data which will be used to draft a bill legalizing the industry.

The pilot implementation will end in December.

“Angkas is one part of the traffic solution, helping ease traffic woes of commuters. Hopefully, within December, the technical working group (TWG) and the Senate will tackle the motorcycle taxi issues,” Royeca said.

“The pilot is ongoing. We’re working closely with the TWG in prepping up, gearing up for schedule with the Senate hearing so we can discuss the issues. We are very hopeful to pass the law within the time-frame of the pilot although we can extend it depending on the approval of the TWG,” Royeca explained.

In October, Angkas bared the intention to extend its operations in regions outside Metro Manila once the government passes a law legalizing the operations of motor taxis.

Angkas currently has 27,000 drivers in its fleet with about two million downloads since it was launched in 2016.