An administration lawmaker on Saturday said the government should expedite the processing of applications of at least four transport network companies that plan to rival the ride-hailing services of Grab Philippines.
This, according to Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, will encourage competition and prevent a monopolistic pricing scheme in the industry.
Villafuerte urged the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to work double time in introducing new TNCs in the market after Grab was reported as to have applied for a fare hike to help its driver-partners cope with the increase in fuel prices.
Grab announced as early as January this year, or long before it decided to merge its operations with Uber, for a 5 percent fare increase, citing at that time the impending impact of the hike in petroleum products following the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion’s enactment.
“In the future, even without the impact of a fuel price hike or any other aggravating factor, Grab may, on its own, come up with ways to raise its fares even without LTFRB approval leaving riders with no choice but to cope with such increases because it is the only ride-hailing service available in the market,” Villafuerte said.
“We need to encourage competition in this sector to prevent a single company from dictating prices,” he added, citing reports that three new TNCs: Lag Go, Owto, Hype and Pira, have applied for accreditation before the LTFRB.