Nearly half of Pinoy netizens prefer TNVS

CEBU, Philippines —  About half of active online Filipinos or 46.47 percent choose TNVS or Transport Network Vehicle Services as their primary mode of transportation, a study revealed.

Social Media data authority, Research and Tech Lab (RTL) recently released study, bared that from being just a go-to alternative when taxis are scarce and trains are packed, ride-sharing technologies disrupted the transportation tradition and eventually became the preferred commute option for majority of the urban-dwelling Filipino netizens.

RTL, a homegrown digital data analytics company studied 781 publicly shared sentiments across the social media platforms.

"Already a big chunk of the Filipino riding public relies on the efficiency of TNVS," it found out.

Recognizing the big impact of this travel innovation, the Philippine government dubbed the evolution as TNVS. This basically refers to the regulation of all existing app-based ride-hailing services like the recently merged Grab-Uber.

On the other hand, the recent status of the TNVS industry presented challenges not only to both riders and partner-drivers; many related businesses will also be affected if TNVS operations continue to be complicated.

According to the netizens’ sentiments, banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies and automotive sellers benefitted in the rise of TNVS due to the influx of vehicle buyers.

Consequently, these companies will likewise feel the impact if the struggles of the TNVS sector persist. Should partner-drivers stop their services, monthly amortization of recently purchased cars might be affected and the boom of automotive selling could also slowdown.

Meanwhile, taxi operators see the shutdown of Uber as an opportunity to again penetrate public transport.

To save the industry and to answer the public’s clamor for alternatives, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) already accredited three new transport network companies (TNCs) and are reviewing other applicants. These new players are expected to bring positive impact to the services of TNVS.

There are six new ride-hailing apps soon to operate in the Philippines, these are; the Cebuano-developes Micab, GoLag from Laguna, Davao-based Hirna, Hype, Owto, and U-Hop.