Does Angkas Really Prioritize Safety Over Profits?

There has been a whirlwind of controversies surrounding the popular motorcycle ride-hailing platform Angkas. Since its inception, its operations have been on and off due to complications with the government and the existing policies laid out by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

At the moment, Angkas has worked things out with the government and is undertaking its six-month pilot run as instructed by the DOTr. However, despite how smoothly things have been going for the company in recent months, it apparently still isn’t making any money.

According to a report by Rappler, Angkas is failing to gain profits even after years of staying in business. Granted, there have been ups and downs along the way, but you would think that a platform with around 27,000 riders servicing customers daily would make even at least a small amount of money, right?

Well, if they hadn’t spent so much to ensure the safety of riders and passengers, then maybe the people running the show would have profited already. All Angkas riders are given free training programs that result in an overall safety rate of 99.997%. Angkas founder and chief executive officer Angeline Tham said it herself that the company’s investment in maintaining high standards of safety is the main reason it has yet to make money out of its services. “That’s the price you pay for keeping the quality of the platform,” Tham said in a statement.

She added that it has become more of an advocacy for road safety rather than gaining profitability. To give you more context, the company says that it fails 70% of its biker applicants, which says a lot about the high standards it claims to uphold.

“Talagang binubusisi po talaga natin yung bawat isang driver natin to make sure na talagang yung pinakamagagaling na driver ang nasa daan para sa Angkas,” shared George Royeca, the company’s regulatory and public affairs head.

To be honest, we can’t argue with what the company seeks to achieve. We all want safer roads, but we also want alternative transport solutions as well. What do you think? Share your two cents in the comments section.

This story originally appeared on Topgear.com.ph.

* Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.