Angkas allowed to resume ops under extended motorcycle-taxi pilot study

The government has allowed Angkas to operate under the extended motorcycle-taxi pilot study. INQUIRER.net file photo / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Motorcycle ride-hailing firm Angkas is now allowed to operate back on Metro Manila roads under the extended motorcycle taxi pilot study.

This was announced by the Motorcycle Taxi Technical Working Group (MC Taxi TWG) on Tuesday as it granted Angkas a provisional authority, which is valid from Nov. 24 to Dec. 9.

The MC Taxi TWG added that Angkas still needs to comply with operational requirements set forth by it and the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19.

Such requirements, according to the MC Taxi TWG, are “the provision of insurance for both rider and passenger in case of an accident and the mandatory use of thermal scanners to accurately detect if the passenger has fever (for discussion with NTF).”

“Once the Angkas is able to fully comply with the requirements, a Certificate of Compliance shall be issued to them by the MC Taxi TWG,” the technical working group said in a statement.

In a message to reporters, Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran that the provisional authority only applies in Metro Manila.

It was last October when the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) allowed the resumption of the motorcycle taxi pilot study.

The study, which expired shortly after the Luzon-wide lockdown, is meant to measure whether motorcycle taxis were fit for public transport as it is currently banned under the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, or Republic Act No. 4136. The pilot study expired in April.

JPV