An organization composed of commuters on Tuesday filed a complaint at the Land Transportation Office against motorcycle ride-hailing service Angkas as it took the transportation network company (TNC) to task for failing to prevent abusive drivers from overcharging customers during the holiday season.
According to the Coalition of Filipino Commuters (CFC), “using the holidays, or rush hours or the traffic situation to charge more from the commuting public is unacceptable and we demand that this practice be stopped.”
The CFC pointed out that there were “fare matrices that have been approved by the LTO and it should be followed.”
These, however, were allegedly disregarded by Angkas riders who during the Yuletide Season reportedly turned off their Angkas apps and instead agreed to ferry passengers only after the latter agreed to usurious rates.
To hold Angkas accountable, the CFC said it filed a complaint against the company “for multiple violations of the standardized fare matrix that the MC Taxi TWG currently implements.”
“These violations,” said the group, “not only cheat the commuting public of their hard earned money, but also puts the ride hailing industry and the motorcycle taxi pilot in jeopardy.”
The CFC stressed that while they support motorcycle taxis as a mode of public transport, in the conduct of their operations TNCs like Angkas “should keep in mind the commuters’ welfare before the urge to make money.”
“As a commuter advocate group, we welcome all forms of commuter transport provided they are allowed by law and they follow all government regulations particularly those of fares and safety,” it added.
House Committee on Transportation Chairperson and Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop had earlier urged the Department of Transportation to act on complaints of users of motorcycle ride-hailing companies, who at the height of the Christmas holiday rush were victims of Angkas-turned-habal-habal motorcycle taxis that contracted passengers instead of getting bookings from their ride-hailing company.
Acop said the DOTr should immediately address complaints of overcharging by TNCs like Angkas and Joyride to check if they comply with the memo on motorcycle taxi pilot-testing. #