New On-Demand Transportation Licensing Moratorium in the Philippines Disrupts GO-JEK Expansion

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) as part of the Ministry of Transport in the Philippines convey that operational permit GO-JEK in their country hindered by regulation. This is because the local government has previously issued a moratorium or termination for operational licensing of transportation services on-demand new.

According to the presentation of the Chairman of LTFRB, Martin B. Delgra, the application for GO-JEK only entered on August 13, 2018 through the establishment of Velox Technology Philippines, Inc. Meanwhile, the "LTFRB Circular Memorandum (MC) 2018-016" was signed by the council on August 9 2018. It prohibits the government from accepting new registrations for the operation of Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS).

The moratorium is intended so that the Philippine government can monitor in more detail the application-based transportation services operating in its territory. Indeed, quite a number of players have now obtained operational permits from the government, namely Hype Transport Systems, Inc.; GoLag, Inc.; iPara Technologies and Solutions, Inc. (Owto); E-Pick Me Up, Inc.; Hirna Mobility Solutions, Inc.; and Micab Systems Corp.

Grab (under the local company name MyTaxi.Ph, Inc.) and U-Hop Transportation Network Vehicle System, Inc. the status that came first from GO-JEK is still "pending" for permit renewal. There is no certainty about their operational fate. It is also reported that there are several other players who are still in the evaluation stage to obtain operational permits.