Taxi-hailing app is 5th TNC to get LTFRB’s OK

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Monday approved the accreditation of another taxi-hailing app, making it the fifth transport network company (TNC) to challenge Grab’s monopoly in the country.

Cebu-based Micab Systems Corp. was given a two-year license to operate starting on April 30 under Accreditation No. 2018-TNC-005 signed by LTFRB Chair Martin Delgra III and Board Members Aileen Lizada and Ronaldo Corpus.

Micab, a taxi-booking app, was the fifth TNC to be accredited by the LTFRB this year after Hype, Hirna, Go Lag and Owto.

Available in 5 key cities

According to the company’s profile, Micab “is the only taxi booking app in the Philippines that is available in five key cities: Cebu, Bacolod, Baguio, Iloilo and Metro Manila.”

Boasting of zero booking fees and no surge pricing, Micab said it currently has 10,000 cabs in its portfolio.

The five TNCs are expected to compete against ride-hailing giant Grab which has dominated the local market following its March buyout of Uber’s Southeast Asia operations.

Grab hit by complaints

In the past weeks, however, Grab has been deluged by complaints from passengers, mostly about canceled bookings, prompting the TNC to sanction almost 500 drivers.

The LTFRB also ordered Grab to stop collecting a P2 per minute travel charge which was implemented without first securing the transport board’s approval.

Grab, however, said it would file a motion for reconsideration as it insisted that the charge was legal.