A HOUSE leader has filed a bill proposing a separate regulatory framework that will govern transport network companies (TNCs) like Grab and Uber where the Transportation department shall be given the sole authority for the operations of these services.
Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, in filing House Bill 6467, recognized the need to adapt to such technological innovations while ensuring the safety and comfort of the ever-growing number of users of online ride-sharing platforms.
In his proposal, Villafuerte said, it is the Department of Transportation, and not the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board that should have authority over TNCs and transport network vehicle services (TNVS), because the vehicles used in these point-to-point (P2P) transport services are “private carriers” and not common or public carriers that fall under LTFRB supervision.
“TNVS, like the drivers of Uber and Grab, should be classified as ‘private carriers’ because they can choose not to offer their car-riding services by signing off from the platform and their services are by special agreement only, unlike ‘common carriers’ which are persons, corporations or associations engaged in the business of carrying or transporting passengers or goods or both, for compensation,” Villafuerte, vice chairperson of the House committee on local government, said.
Villafuerte also pointed out that TNCs, such as the companies behind Uber and Grab, do not provide transportation services but merely link a potential customer with a third-party driver or TNVS and are thus not parties to a transportation contract.
“The State must rethink and address decades-old rules and entrenched interests to continue to maintain the efficiencies of the new ridesharing movement introduced by TNCs like Uber and Grab,” Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte likened TNCs to a travel agency that merely arranges the booking for a person but the actual transporting of a customer is done by the airline, which by analogy, is the TNVS.
He said TNVS provide the public not only an alternative means of transport, but also encourage car owners to leave their vehicles at home, which help decongest traffic in Metro Manila and other urban centers.
Ride sharing offers such as Uberpool and Grabshare also help reduce costs for commuters, he said.
TNVS have become the “sought-after change and innovation in transportation” that Filipinos have long wanted, as shown by an online petition signed by more than 100,000 commuters expressing their anger over the LTFRB’s plan to impound vehicles of TNVS operators who do not have certificates of public convenience, Villafuerte said.
Under the bill, TNCs and TNVS shall be required to secure permits from the DOTR, which is authorized to (1) compel them to secure comprehensive insurance policies, (2) conduct safety inspections of prospective TNVS before these are approved for use, and (3) oversee drivers through stringent background checks, among other requirements.
The bill provides that the DOTR may also promulgate rules “concerning administration, fees, penalties, additional safety requirements, and financial responsibility requirements,” Villafuerte said.
“Moreover, a driver may not provide services unless the TNC has matched the driver to a rider. In other words, hailing is not permitted. Once matched to a rider, a TNC driver must provide service regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability,” he added.
He said the current system of self-regulation of TNCs and TNVS will remain under the bill, as these have proven to be effective in maintaining this sector’s safety and quality standards.
In defining the powers and functions of the DOTr, Villafuerte said the such shall be empowered to suspend or revoke the permits of, and impose administrative penalties on, erring TNCs and TNVS drivers and operators.
He also stressed the need to strike a balance in the case of regulating TNCs as “the State should provide a prudent regulation that welcomes technological innovations and ensures a high degree of service to the riding public.”
“TNCs like Uber and Grab can serve as platforms that enforce quality and safety standards, balance asymmetrical information, and internalize externalities before and during the transaction, with minimum mandates from the government,” Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte’s bill also includes a provision banning drivers of TNVS from logging into the TNC’s network if they are drunk.
“On receipt of a passenger complaint alleging a violation of the intoxicating substance policy, a transportation network company shall: 1. conduct an investigation into the reported incident; and 2. immediately suspend the driver’s access to the company’s digital network for the duration of the investigation,” Villafuerte’s bill provides.