Angkas, JoyRide hop into food delivery

MANILA, Philippines — Motorcycle ride-hailing firms are venturing outside of their traditional services to help their bikers and the public during the course of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

JoyRide launched Wednesday its on-demand curbside delivery app dubbed as “JoyRide Delivery” in a move to help the people and its riders amid the lockdown in Luzon.

The company said the new service is made possible by a group of its bikers “who are willing to lend a hand in these trying times.”

Items that can be delivered are food, drinks, medicine, clothing, groceries, parcels and documents which are insured up to P2,000, according to JoyRide.

Aside from JoyRide, Angkas announced on Tuesday its food delivery service venture in partnership with various restaurants.

Angkas said the food delivery service initiative is being undertaken to help provide income opportunities to its bikers and at the same time, help those under quarantine by providing them with the food delivery service.

The company said it would not take any commission from such initiative, adding that 100 percent of the delivery fee will go to the biker.

Angkas, however, clarified that is food delivery service offering is only temporary, mostly for the duration of the ongoing community quarantine in Luzon.

“Helping commuters beat the traffic has always really been our forte, and venturing into the chaos that is food deliveries is not in future plans outside of this pandemic,” Angkas said.

Angkas and JoyRide are two of the three motorcycle taxi-hailing firms that were part of the government’s pilot study on motorcycles as a form of public transport.

The entire motorcycle taxi pilot study has been suspended in line with social distancing measures for the enhanced community quarantine.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has advised private express and messengerial delivery service operators to strictly comply with the guidelines and directives issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry, and the local government units.

As far as practicable, the DICT said private express and messengerial delivery service should continue their operations for the delivery of basic goods and necessities amid the ongoing enhanced community quarantine.