MANILA -- Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go Jek has expressed its interest to operate in the Philippines as a transportation network company (TNC), according to an official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
“Go Jek is interested to enter and provide TNVS (transportation network vehicle services) which is only one of the 18 services they offer,” LTFRB Board Member Aileen Lizada said in a text message to reporters Monday.
“Go Jek is big, we need to study well as we need to protect the local players,” she added as officials of Go-Jek presented the operations of the company in a meeting with the LTFRB.
The firm is eyeing to enter all cities in the country that have taxi services. Currently, only three cities in the Philippines -- Metro Manila, Cebu and Pampanga -- have taxi operations, Lizada said.
“Dapat pag-aralan ng mabuti to protect the local TNCs kasi may taxi hailing app din sila. (We must study this thoroughly to protect the local TNCs because they have taxi hailing apps),” she said.
Go Jek currently has 250,000 active TNVS units in Indonesia. The company can impose price surges up to five times more than the normal fare as there is no regulation in that country.
Lizada informed the officials of the company that the LTFRB imposes a price surge cap twice the normal rate which Go Jek will further study.
The firm needs to write a letter to the Board to formalize their intention to invest in the local ridesharing industry.
Go-Jek, backed by private equity firms KKR & Co LP and Warburg Pincus LLC, was established in 2010 as a motorcycle ride-hailing service. It then evolved into an on-demand mobile platform, providing transportation, logistics, mobile payments, and food delivery, among others. (PNA)
