LTFRB sets crackdown on ‘colorum’ Grab, Uber units

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will start apprehending drivers of vehicles registered with transport network companies (TNCs) Grab and Uber without the required government permits, starting July 26.

Following a show-cause hearing last July 11, the LTFRB ordered Grab Philippines and Uber Systems, Inc. to stop the operations of all its vehicles without certificate of public convenience (CPCs) and provisional authority (PAs).

The order will be effective on July 26, 15 days since the app-based ride-sharing companies received their respective copies.

Atty. Aileen Lizada, LTFRB member and spokesperson, said this is above the R5-million fine the agency imposed on the TNCs for violating a number of terms and conditions of their accreditation under the Memorandum Circular 2015-016.

"What we are telling them this time is to clean (their) data list, that only with those with PAs and CPC can operate. It does not mean that you paid R5 million, your colorums can go,'" she told The Manila Bulletin onnFriday.

"Only those with CPCs and PAs can book rides," she reiterated.

Grab and Uber officials, in a hearing at the LTFRB last Tuesday admitted that they activated into their system some 56,000 TNVS, despite the suspension of the issuance of new TNVS franchises.

Lizada said that only the more than 3,700 TNVS authorized by the LTFRB can operate under two TNCs' platforms until they thresh out the issues on their violations.

"We will sit down with them next week to determine how many TNVS do they really need. Numbers that are enough so that these TNCs, and the ride-sharing transport, will survive," she said.