Motorcycle taxi ride-hailing app Angkas has launched a new delivery service called Angkas Food, characterizing it as an effort to help their riders earn income despite the suspension of mass transport and widespread home quarantining during the Luzon-wide lockdown.
The service allows drivers to bring food from select restaurants to customers who book through the app, with 100 percent of the delivery fee going to the driver.
“Delivering food isn’t our expertise… But we’re doing this so our bikers can earn money, and in our desire to [meet] the needs of our community in this time of quarantine,” Angkas said in a Twitter post last night.
“Angkas will not take any commission in this initiative. This is for all the bikers,” they added.
Guys legit to, gumawa kami ng food delivery service oha. But this isn't for us. Para to sa mga bikers at sa inyo. We will NOT take any commission in this initiative. Sa kanila lahat to.
For the list of restaurants: https://t.co/dl1b8EYi7M pic.twitter.com/ZK7o2xIAfw
— Angkas (@angkas) March 23, 2020
Angkas Food also does so-called “contactless” deliveries, in which riders can leave the package at the customer’s door or at the building’s lobby as added measure against the virus.
Other app-based food delivery services GrabFood and FoodPanda had previously announced that they would be suspending their operations in light of the Luzon-wide enhanced quarantine. But following a discussion with regulators a few days later, the two services resumed operations with a skeleton fleet, and encouraged customers to switch to online payment methods as a safety measure.
The same week, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez clarified that food and necessary goods like medicine are the only things exempted from the ban on deliveries during the quarantine period, which is expected to run until April 13.
Health authorities, meanwhile, announced scores of new cases this afternoon, bringing the total number of recorded COVID-19 cases in the country to 552, including 35 who died, and at least 22 who have already recovered.
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