AN OFFICIAL of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said Thursday Grab and Uber must comply with the law–like having a Certificate of Public Convenience franchise or provisional authority to operate, similar to what taxis, jeepneys, and buses do.
“That is what we are saying here. We want you to comply with the law the way we want the taxis, jeepneys, buses to comply. We cannot bend so far to accommodate you,” said LTFRB board member lawyer Aileen Lizada.
Speaking during Senate public services committee hearing on proposals regulating transport network companies and transportation network vehicle services, Lizada also told the panel, chaired by Senator Grace Poe, they would not allow Grab and Uber to just get an accreditation.
She gave assurances that as long as they were in authority, they would regulate the operations of Grab and Uber based on terms and conditions.
She also told the two TNCs that the LTRFB was authorized by Congress to issue a franchise.
She noted that both Grab and Uber had allowed their partner-drivers to accept passengers even if majority of them had no CPC franchise or PA to operate.
The LTRFB had earlier imposed a fine of P5 million each for Grab and Uber due to violations of terms and conditions of the Certification of TNC accreditation under Memorandum Circular Number 2015-016.
Furthermore, Lizada said it was unfair that TNCs had given their drivers false hopes by accrediting them despite the apprehension order on “colorum” vehicles.
Grab Philippines country head Brian Cu said out of the 52,398 Grab cars, 3,000 to 4,000 hold a PA.
Uber Philippines Government Relations and Public Policy head Yves Gonzalez said out of the 66,000 taxis, only 2,500 held a PA and 1,000 had a pending application for PA extension.
Responding to the query if they were open to being required to get a franchise, Gonzalez said only their TNVS partners should do so but the TNC since it did not engage in actual transportation of a person.
But Grab public affairs manager Leo Gonzales said they were open to get a franchise both as a TNC and for TNVS partners “if needed.”
“We will abide [by the rules],” he said.
Poe also asked the LTFRB to level up its system and ways.
“You should be able to regulate accordingly and not stifle the market. I know it’s difficult, market is freely evolving, but this is something you should consider,” Poe said.
As this developed, Senator Bam Aquino urged the LTRFB to give priority to the safety and commuting experience of the riding public and look out for the welfare of drivers of public utility vehicles.
“What we want to achieve is fairness—fairness for Grab and Uber, for taxi operators, for drivers, and most especially for the riding public,” said Aquino
He also cited the need to develop a brand-new regulatory framework which would govern transportation network companies TNC, TNVS and even taxis.
“Maybe we can have fewer regulations for owner-driven vehicles…Then we can decide on appropriate regulations for fleet operators of Grab, Uber and even taxis,” said Aquino.
He encouraged LTFRB to work with taxi operators to help them improve their services, whether it’s by using a phone-based application for pricing versus taxi meters or by rethinking existing regulations.
“Instead of weighing down on TNCs and TNVs, maybe we need to work on improving the taxi services in the country,” he said.