Meet the most recent player on the Costa Rican taxi scene: Nova Transportes, a 100 percent locally owned business.

The company is recruiting drivers, and also clients, on its Facebook page, and says it will accept car models from 2000 on.

The newly formed Costa Rican company, Nova Transportes, is basing its model on Uber, and will begin operating in the second half of this year, said the company.

Nova promises lower prices for riders, and more profits for drivers who join.

Drivers will not be charged any percentage of the service fee, instead charged a monthly fee of approximately $35 for access to the application, said Ian Calle, general manager for Nova, which keeps prices to users down. He also said that they are not concerned about being fined for their operations.

“We are registered with the government, and have everything legally in place to offer this service,” said Calle in an interview last week with Costa Rica’s Radio Monumental, who said a recent constitutional court ruling on the subject of taxis did not explicitly outlaw Uber’s (and therefore other types of taxi companies) operations in Costa Rica.

This was the last piece of news Costa Rica’s official “red” taxis were hoping to hear. Rubén Vargas, a red taxi representative who has filed suits against Uber on behalf of drivers, also spoke with Radio Monumental and said that this announcement was “the last straw.”

Vargas said that after seeing official taxis face mounting competition and dwindling returns since Uber’s operations began less than two years ago, said his drivers would resort to “extreme measures” if Nova Transportes begins operations.

The Nova application is free for users, and the company has invested at least US$100 thousand for its development, said the company.

The company recently announced on their Facebook page that to celebrate reaching 4,000 followers they are offering “free legal advice for affiliated drivers who have problems with getting tickets or removal of license plates by transit police officials while transporting clients.”

The company reiterated, “We operate legally and will ensure that our legal status is respected.”