SENATOR Grace Poe on Monday urged the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to explain its basis for limiting the number of Grab, Uber and other ride-sharing units at 45,000 in Metro Manila, 500 in Metro Cebu and 200 in Pampanga.
She said she was not questioning the LTFRB’s order, but she wanted it “to explain the scientific basis of their decision.”
“What was the math used in this decision? What were the parameters? Poe said.
She made her statement even as the LTFRB said its decision to set a common supply base for transportation network vehicle services or TNVS units was aimed at creating a distinct denomination for the transport service that would facilitate the regulation of the ride-sharing industry.”©”©
The agency said the initiative was derived from the current practice of TNVS drivers who are accredited by more than one transportation network company or TNC.”©”©
“The policy on a common supply base for TNVS was envisioned to create a distinct denomination for this type of public transport service and not defined by the individual business models of the TNCs, thus giving the Board a more focused regulatory function on such service,” LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra III said in a statement over the weekend.
Poe said “some formula would have been used because the figures, which were important to the riding public, should not have been plucked from thin air.”
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“In this age of algorithms, LTFRB should make public the factual basis of its decision,” Poe said.
“They should come out with the minutes of the meetings and consultations so the public will know. Such disclosure of a public document is what the FOI rules, issued by the President, require.”
Poe also asked “if the most important components in the ride-sharing business, the customers, were consulted.
Was there a survey? Were they asked?” Poe said.
The LTFRB recently issued Memorandum Circular 2018-003 that set a “common supply base” for TNVS providers.
The agency said that base or pool would be shared by the ride-sharing companies and should not be exceeded.
The LTFRB earlier assured the public that the base would be reviewed every quarter and adjusted correspondingly based on the “churning rate.”
Poe said the review should not just be based on the churning rate, which was the number of vehicles that were no longer in the system. Instead, it should be based on an algorithm that determines supply and demand.