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TWG blames Angkas for terminating motorcycle taxi operations

Philstar.com

January 20, 2020 | 3:31pm

TWG blames Angkas for terminating motorcycle taxi operations

Inter-agency Technical Working Group chairman Antonio Gardiola Jr., board member of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, attends the Senate inquiry on the regulation of motorcycle taxis.

The STAR / Mong Pintolo

MANILA, Philippines — The government's interagency technical working group blamed motorcycle hailing app Angkas for terminating the operations of motorcycle taxis.

TWG Chairman Antonio Gardiola Jr., board member of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, announced that they have recommended the termination of their study on the safety of motorcycle hailing apps.

Gardiola told reporters that all motorcycle taxis cannot operate anymore starting next week as they are illegal.

Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, criticized the recommendation of the TWG to end the pilot test without any data. The senator said the interagency group could have obtained data from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority or the Philippine National Police's Highway Patrol Group.

The TWG chair admitted that their data on the safety of motorcycle taxis came from Angkas.

"Ang sinasabi ninyo ang datos na meron kayo ay galing sa Angkas na 99% ang kanilang safety record pero ngayon kinakansela ninyo ang pag-aaral nito dahil sinasabi ninyo dapat ligtas ang ating mga kababayan," Poe told the TWG, pointing out that this is contrary to the point of the study.

(You are saying that your data came from Angkas which has a 99% safety record but now you are canceling your study on this because you are saying that our citizens should be safe.)

Gardiola then added that the TWG initially recommended the extension of the study and added guidelines to monitor the motorcycle hailing apps.

Asked why they are terminating the program, Gardiola claimed that Angkas did not follow the guidelines.

"Kasi po hindi kami makagalaw. Marami pong legal impediments along the way. 'Yun pong pagre-require namin sa paglagay po namin ng guidelines hindi po sinusunod," Gardiola told the Senate panel.

(Because we cannot move on. There are many legal impediments along the way. Out requirement on implementing guidelines are not being followed.)

Gardiola also confirmed that part of their recommendation to Congress was to blacklist Angkas from the list of motorcycle taxis that can operate in the country "as they blatantly exhibited defiance on mandated guidelines set forth by the TWG."

The MMDA, meanwhile, expressed support for the recommendation of the TWG due to issues with Angkas.

"If safety issue po talaga ang kukwestyunin we support Angkas. Sa MMDA side, sa safety issue kasi may training 'yan but lagi namin tinatanong is how you can regulate 'yung motorcycle taxi," MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said.

Garcia added that if tricycles are banned on national roads, it should be the same with motorcycle taxis.

The MMDA chief also noted that there have been an estimated 27,000 motorcyle accidents in 2019 with more than 1.2 million registered motorcycles. The MMDA, however, said it cannot identify which of these are with ride hailing apps or private vehicles. — Patricia Lourdes Viray

'Thousands' of Angkas bikers to protest LTFRB cap, looming layoffs

Motorcycle taxi TWG says ending pilot test early sans data, conclusions

ANGKAS

LTFRB

As It Happens

LATEST UPDATE: January 22, 2020 - 10:36pm

The Transport Network Vehicle Service community of ridesharing companies holds a noise barrage in front of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to air grievances.

Around 200 vehicles honked their horns in front of the LTFRB to ask for the return of the P2-per-minute charge, GMA News reports.

LTFRB had questioned Grab for imposing a P2-per-minute charge on its passengers and slapped a P10 million fine against the ride-hailing service firm last July.

Grab had also urged the LTFRB to increase the TNVS common supply base in Metro Manila from 65,000 to 80,500 to address passenger demand.

January 22, 2020 - 10:36pm

Sen. Koko Pimentel is seeking a probe into the "high-handed, arrogant and irresponsible acts" of Angeline Tham, a Singaporean national whom he claims owns 99.9% of motorcycle hailing company Angkas.

It was Pimentel who endorsed JoyRide, a competitor of Angkas, in September 2019 to Transportation Secretary Tugade purportedly to end the Angkas' "monopoly." The Philippine Competition Commission, however, had said that Angkas is not a monopoly like Grab is in the market. (With report from The STAR/Paolo Romero)

January 20, 2020 - 10:07am

Motorcycle taxis will no longer be allowed to operate "maybe a week from now" after the Department of Transportation Technical Working Group announces termination of its study on motorcycle taxi services.

"We just submitted the report to Congress, to the committee on transportation," DOTr-TWG's Antonio Gardiola Jr. tells reporters.

JUST IN | DOTr-TWG official Antonio Gardiola, Jr., announces termination of their motorcycle-taxi study. All three motorcycle-taxi services can be apprehended starting next week, he added. (via @News5AKSYON / @maeannelosbanos) pic.twitter.com/bOmHlof5f5
— ONE News PH (@onenewsph) January 20, 2020

December 23, 2019 - 8:18pm

The Motorcycle Taxi technical working group on Monday evening accused ride-hailing app Angkas of making a public spectacle and "[resorting] to emotional blackmail" over a 10,000-rider cap that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has imposed on motorcycle taxi firms.

In an open letter posted on the Department of Transportation's social media accounts, the TWG disputed Angkas' statement last Saturday that 17,000 of its 27,000 riders would lose their jobs because of the cap.

December 22, 2019 - 9:51am

Angkas bikers are holding a protest along White Plains Avenue near EDSA in Quezon City against the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board's decision to cap their authorized riders to 10,000 from 27,000.

Angkas will be sharing an allotment of 39,000 riders with new players JoyRide and MoveIt in 2020.

December 21, 2019 - 10:26am

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has decreased the number of Angkas bikers allowed to operate on the road in 2020 to 10,000 from 27,000, the motorcycle taxi firm says.

This will mean a harder time for passengers trying to book rides on the service, which many use as an alternative to commuting and to more expensive services like Grab.

It is also, Angkas points out, "a direct blow to over 17,000 Filipino families."