A female rider of motorcycle taxi app Angkas picks up a passenger. HandoutMANILA - Like many service crew workers, Rizza Concha suddenly found herself jobless when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. 

The restaurant where she worked was forced to downsize its operations as the country went on lockdown.

But as a single mother to two daughters, she had to keep working. That’s when she decided to apply as a full-time Angkas rider and courier since, at that time, they were among the few who were allowed to operate as essential workers.

Concha had the basics down when it came to driving a motorcycle so she was somewhat confident. That all changed when she spoke with a male friend who worked at Angkas.

Angkas rider Rizza Concha is a single mother who took part in the gig economy when the COVID-19 pandemic made work scarce. Handout

“Sabi ko, madali ba ang skill (test)? Sabing ganun sakin, hindi, hindi mo kaya ‘yun, kasi nga mahirap,” she shared.

(I asked, is the skill test easy? He told me, it’s not, you would not be able to handle it because it’s difficult.)

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Instead of quitting, however, she came prepared.

“Ginawa ko, hinanap ko sa YouTube. Pinanuod ko ‘yun, isang Linggo. Pinag-aralan ko talaga kung paano,” she said.

(What I did was I looked for a video on YouTube. I watched it for about a week. I really studied how it was done.)

When she arrived for the test, Concha said she only saw one other woman applying to be a rider.

“Parang gusto ko na umuwi, gusto ko na umurong kasi malayo pa lang ako, ang daming motor, puro lalaki. Tutuloy pa ba ako? Hiyang-hiya na ‘ko. Sabi ko, bahala na nga. Kung babagsak, edi babagsak,”

(I felt like going back home. I wanted to back out because even from afar, I could already see that there were lots of motorycles, all of which belonged to men. Will I stick it out? I was so shy. But then I said, whatever. If I fail, I fail.)

In the end, Concha passed the practical test in just one take — a feat she made sure to share with her friend who had doubted her capabilities.

“Yung mga ibang lalaki nga doon, bumagsak e. May mga second (take) pa sila. Kaya sinabi ko, oh, one take lang ako dyan. Sabi niya, uy, legit nga ah. Galing! Tignan mo, kung nakinig pala ako sa’yo na hindi ko kaya yun, hindi ako Angkas ngayon,” she said.

(The other guys failed. They had to do a second take. I told him that I had passed on the first try. He said, hey, it’s legit. Good job! See, if I had listened to you that I couldn’t do it, I would not be in Angkas today.)

Mernalyn Tacalan says some passengers sometimes cancel bookings when they find out that their rider is a woman. But Tacalan is determined to prove that women can do what men can do. Handout

BOOKING CANCELLATIONS?

In the case of Mernalyn Tacalan, she not only felt like she had to prove herself to the company, but also to passengers.

When she first started out as a rider, Tacalan said there were times when passengers would cancel their booking after finding out that their driver was a girl.

“Minsan macu-curious sila, ay babae ka pala po, cancel na lang po. Siyempre malungkot kasi iniisip ko na, bakit, hindi ba namin kaya yung ginagawa ng lalaki?,” said Tacalan.

(Sometimes they would get curious, “Oh, you’re a woman. I’ll just cancel.” Of course, it is saddening, because in my head, I’m thinking, can’t we do what men can do?)

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“Sinasabi ko sa kanila na wag niyo po muna kaming tignan sa kaanyuan namin, sa pisikal namin, tignan niyo po yung trabaho namin,” she added.

(I would tell them, don’t judge us by our looks, but by how we do our job.)

But now that there are more female motorcycle taxi drivers on the road, Tacalan said some customers still get surprised, but no longer disappointed. She shared that a first-time Angkas passenger even treated her to a takeout meal when she got to her destination safe and sound.

“Sa araw-araw kong nagiging pasahero na, wow, ate ang galing mo naman. Dahil dito naging mas confident pa ako lalo. Kung tutuusin mas ano pa kami pagdating sa trabaho, kasi mas maingat pa kami,” she said.

(Every time that a passenger tells me, wow, ate, you’re great. Because of this, I have become more confident in myself. If you think about it, we may even be better drivers because we are more careful.)

Both Concha and Tacalan said they are grateful to Angkas for taking a chance on them and other women. But they hope this is just the start of it, and that more companies in the transportation industry hire more women in their fleet.