Successful applicants are also required to undergo training with the Honda Safety Driving Center, one of only two such training facilities in the Philippines, and pass both the written and practical examinations afterwards. The tests usually last several hours. According to drivers interviewed by Entrepreneur Philippines, some applicants arrive at the Angkas office at six in the morning and finish the exams by one in the morning the next day.
“Actually, at least 70 percent don’t pass our practical exams. We really make sure that the drivers we bring on the road know how to drive,” Tham explained, adding that many drivers end up retaking the tests. She estimates that Angkas has already trained at least 60,000 motorbike drivers though it has accepted only 20,000 of them as of now.
All drivers are also given their own helmets once they start using the Angkas app. Moreover, both the driver and passenger are covered with insurance of up to P200,000.
Angkas vs Go-Jek?
But aside from the regulatory uncertainties, Angkas is also set to compete against Indonesia-based Go-Jek, which has expressed intention to set up shop in the country in numerous occasions.
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In fact, LTFRB Board Member Aileen Lizada said in August that Go-Jek had already filed an application for a provisional authority (PA) or temporary permit to operate in the Philippines.
The company first started as a bike-hailing app in Jakarta before expanding to car-hailing and logistics. It’s one of the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia, with equity support from Google of the US and Tencent of China.
Lizada has expressed worry over Go-Jek’s possible entry, saying she is concerned about the fate of local transport network companies because of the Indonesian startup’s size. “My apprehension is this: Go-Jek is too huge for the Philippines. It will wipe out our homegrown TNCs,” she warned in remarks before a legislative hearing.
In contrast, Tham is not worried at all. “I welcome competition. The more companies you have pushing for this industry, the better it is for regulation and legislation,” she said. “But what I want to make sure is with competition, we are able to maintain the standard we have set for Angkas as a service. If we have a legal framework that can help us maintain that standard we have set, then that’s fine.”
One reason Tham isn’t fazed too much by the prospect of competition is because of the startup’s lean and efficient operations.
When Entrepreneur Philippines interviewed her, the Angkas CEO was working from a co-working space in Mandaluyong City that served as the startup’s temporary headquarters. Only a third of the company’s 60-people strong staff are with her on a day-to-day basis, most of whom are tasked to work on the app’s backend support.
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It’s also focused on improving its current transport and logistics services, foregoing tempting opportunities, at least in the meantime, in digital payments or food delivery, for example. The company is not even considering inviting new investors, seemingly content with current levels of funding from what she describes in jest as “family, friends and fools.”
Perhaps the bigger reason she welcomes competition is that there’s actual room for another motorcycle taxi considering the size of the potential market. “Despite everything we have achieved, this is still small compared to what we want to do,” she said. “There are 14 million bikers out there and what we’ve done is just a drop in a bucket.
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.
