Reliability, speed and convenience are the three essential qualities commuters look for in a public transport which mobile applications seeks to address.

UTOL, an all-Filipino transport company based on a mobile app, wants to contribute to filling the need with its grand launch recently.

The new ride-hailing service offers four-wheel rides as a transport network company (TNC) that provides an app to link passengers and drivers who are part of a transport network vehicle service (TNVS).

To establish its foothold in the market, UTOL chairman and chief executive officer Roland Maningas aims to attract TNVS drivers by providing them with multiple benefits and incentives.

“As an owner of several transportation services, I thought of creating UTOL to extend complete benefits to drivers,” he said.

“UTOL is the app provider but the TNVS drivers are an important part of the transport sector. They should be well taken care of,” Maningas stressed.

UTOL stands for Unified Transport Operations League which emphasizes the company’s objective of advancing care underlined by the Filipino colloquial term UTOL which means sibling.

Maningas explains that happy drivers result in satisfied and loyal customers, which he continues to witness in operating his first business of providing cars, limousines, vans, and buses for rent by individuals, schools, hotels, and other companies.

He said loyal and responsible UTOL drivers will also receive premiums for basic services under the Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Pag-IBIG Fund.

“I have been in the transportation business for 20 years so I know the needs of drivers. Most of them put their money into the education of their kids and not think about their future,” Maningas shared.

“I want drivers to have funds they can draw from when they retire or experience a health emergency,” he said.

Maningas said UTOL can give scholarships or a study-now-pay-later program to children of deserving drivers as the company aims to operate a sustainable and highly impactful business.

“When I create a business, I want its benefits to spread beyond our employees or partner drivers. I want their families to be secure because that’s the reason they work every day. At the same time, I want them to have a balanced life and also spend time with their families,” Maningas said.

He shared that scholarships provided to his employees’ children were an immense contributor to improving their lives as he was proud to enumerate the doctors, lawyers, engineers, and priests who came out of the beneficial program.

Apart from these, Maningas said UTOL offers additional income to drivers through its rewards program which converts points into cash.

“For example, you can earn 100 points for 100 kilometers traveled and get P100. If you travel for 26 days, you’ll have P2,600 aside from the passengers’ fees,” he explained.

Emergency ready

To protect both drivers and passengers from any harm and respond to emergencies quickly, the UTOL app has an emergency button.

“It links drivers and passengers to our customer relations officers who will then connect them to the proper authorities,” Maningas said.

He added that UTOL deploys team leaders on roving cars to monitor the riding situations of drivers and passengers.

“Drivers out there usually seek other people to talk to when needed. They cannot often do that unless the boss calls for a meeting,” Maningas said.

“Through the monitoring system, drivers can also develop the bayanihan spirit. They can contact the person closest to the site where help is needed, such as to fix a broken car or a driver who was robbed or harassed by the passenger,” he continued.

Additional features

As it strives to grow its TNVS network just over a week after the UTOL launch, Maningas said he plans to add ride-sharing on the app to accept passengers with different destinations.

Maningas is also preparing the guidelines for a car ownership program that will allow drivers to become operators, helping others to also earn from their own business.

“Drivers who have accumulated high points can own a car within five years, for example. They can become operators themselves and hire drivers,” he said.

As a former hotel employee, Maningas spotted the opportunity to enter into the transport industry.

“Guests come in and out of the hotel. Many of them are balikbayans and they want to visit several places back home,” he said.

Equipped with a growth mindset and value for hard work, Maningas expanded his business from car and van rentals into buses and limousines.

Maningas said these business ventures deepened his understanding of the needs of drivers and his compassion for them.

“I started from being an employee so I empathize with drivers. I’m also hands-on because I know that you cannot simply delegate tasks; you have to know what’s happening on the ground,” he said.

Maningas stressed drivers can demand him to sit down for meetings.

“I encourage this because based on my experience, when the boss calls for a meeting, only the boss speaks. If the drivers call for the meeting, every one of them speaks,” Maningas said.

“Because the drivers truly get what the company has promised, they still respect me when they talk in the meeting,” he said.