THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has denied the claims of Angkas that 17,000 bikers of the app-based motorcycle taxi are at risk of losing their jobs.
Angkas’ official statement posted on its Facebook page came after the inter-agency technical working group (TWG) extended the pilot run of motorcycle taxi operations and the conduct of safety study with a total allotted cap of 39,000 registered riders to be divided equally between Angkas and two new competitors, JoyRide and Move It.
The LTFRB branded the claims of Angkas as “untrue and without basis.” The statement of Angkas became a hot topic on social media since Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019.
Retired Police Maj. Gen. Antonio Gardiola Jr., TWG chairman, said commuters should expect an increase in the number of motorcycle taxis as 12,000 additional riders are joining the extended pilot run operations from the original 27,000 Angkas riders.
The TWG assured that with the inclusion of riders from Move It and JoyRide, the extended operations and the data gathered from the study would not be “monopolized” by one transport network company (TNC).
By allowing two new TNCs to participate, commuters will have more options in choosing their ride-hailing provider.
“We added two TNCs to avoid monopolization of data of the parties involved in this study,” Gardiola said in Tagalog.
Gardiola said the intention to extend motorcycle taxis’ operations is to check the safety aspect of using motorcycles as a mode of public transportation.
He appealed to Angkas not to muddle the issue before the public through social media.
Earlier, Angkas claimed that 17,000 riders would lose their jobs and that it would no longer be allowed to add more riders because of the new limit. (NJN)