Grab is the current market leader for rideshare or TNVS involving cars or 4-wheeled vehicles. Others like Joyride and Angkas went the way of legalizing motorcycle taxis. Grab applied for the same as they were already operating motorcycles for food and deliveries; competing with another company, Lalamove, which focuses on deliveries. Disallowed by the LTFRB to deploy MC taxis under their brand, they acquired Move It to circumvent the decision.

Meanwhile, as Grab continued their dominance of the rideshare market, the other players decided to offer some competition. I say ‘some’ because the perception is that they have not really gained much vs. Grab. You don’t see many Joyride taxis though a couple of companies appear to be making some impact – In Drive and Green GSM. The latter though is a taxi company that looks to attract people back to the conventional but app-enhanced taxi services

Last week, we saw this car with a familiar brand on its side. Sporting the colors and logo of MC taxi leader Angkas, they coined a brand for their cars – Angcars.

Whether people will take to these competitors for 4 or 2-wheelers so there is not an imbalance of market shares depends on public perception based on the cost and convenience, among other factors, of availing the services of these companies. Conditions may also vary depending on the cities. That is, situations may be different elsewhere like Cebu, Davao or Iloilo.

These modes, however, are still cars and motorcycles, and are regarded as private vehicles in terms of operational characteristics. Even if they are also public utility vehicles (they are for hire with fare rates), these represent a segment of private mode share. There is really a need to improve and improve and expand public transport services in order to retain or increase transit mode shares. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time and resources to build railways so road-based public transport is still the main option where improvements need to be realized.

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