ANOTHER ride-sharing company is seeking to apply for accreditation with the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Board Member Aileen Lourdes A. Lizada said that the LTFRB will meet on Thursday with a new service named Pira, a transport network company (TNC) seeking accreditation.
Three other TNCs, Lag Go, Owto, and Hype, have applied for accreditation with the LTFRB and are in the process of completing their applications.
“This Thursday, we will be talking to another TNC which wants to enter, the name is Tira,” Ms. Lizada told reporters on the sidelines of the Public Transport Modernization Expo.
“We’ll see. If everybody will be able to comply, we’ll see four possible new players as TNCs.”
Ms. Lizada added the target is to have the new TNCs operating by the second quarter, in order to increase competition in the ride-sharing market.
“We will work hard so that by second quarter, they will be there. We also do not want Grab to be (alone in the market) for a long period; we need to have other choices for the riding public,” Ms. Lizada said.
Singapore-based Grab has agreed to take over Uber Technologies, Inc.’s Southeast Asian operations in exchange for Uber taking a stake in Grab. The deal is subject to review by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).
If granted franchises, the vehicles of the accredited TNCs will be part of the common supply base of 65,000 transport network vehicle service (TNVS). — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

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