Ride-hailing apps have been around for quite a long time now, yet there are only a handful of companies operating in the Philippines. Well, things are about to change. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has lifted the moratorium on the entry of transport network companies (TNCs) in the ride-hailing industry.

The memorandum released by the agency states that it is now giving companies the opportunity to apply, so as to induce healthy competition in the transport network vehicle services (TNVS) market.

“In uniformly applying the existing policies of the board, while giving new entrants the opportunity to apply, thus, inviting healthy competition among the TNCs, the moratorium on the acceptance of application for accreditation as TNC is hereby lifted,” the LTFRB said.

LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III, together with board members Joel Pernito and Sherwin Mylil Begyan, signed the memorandum circular lifting the moratorium on the entry of transport network companies (TNC).

Back in 2018, the agency suspended new applications as there was already a  “considerable number of applications” according to them. However, upon observing that only a single TNC—which they did not name—is dominating the market in terms of booking and ridership, they recently decided to accept new applications once again.