LTFRB approves transport network company 'Owto' to operate in PH
By Roel Tibay
Published Apr 24, 2018 06:50 pm
By Alexandria Dennise San Juan
LTFRB logo / MANILA BULLETIN
The fourth transport network company, Owto, is now ready to enter the ride-sharing market as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) approved on Tuesday its accreditation to operate in the country.
LTFRB logo / MANILA BULLETIN
LTFRB member Atty. Aileen Lizada told reporters Tuesday that the Board already signed the accreditation papers of another TNC for transport network vehicle services.
The Certificate of Accreditation signed April 24, 2018 given to iPARA Technologies, and Solutions, Inc., the owner of ride-sharing app Owto, is valid for two years.
Lawyer Eloisa Bayani of iPARA, said that based on the LTFRB Accreditation Committee found the company "complete and compliant" with MC No. 2015-015-A.
According to Bayani, Owto's app can be downloadable upon their launching on April 28.
"We opted to have the app become downloadable upon our launching. April 28 will be the launching as we have to make the formalities with our partners or peers first," Bayani said.
Last week, the transport regulatory body has given the go signal to three players namely Hype Transport Systems, Inc., Hirna Mobility Solutions, Inc., and GoLag, Inc., to legally operate as TNCs.
The Board's approval of the new TNCs came days after ride-sharing giant Uber exited the country following rival Grab's acquisition on its southeast asia operations.
The deal created a fear of monopoly in the ride-sharing industry which the Board shrugged off with the entry of new TNC players.