Grab and Uber: Stalled no more
Transport network companies Grab and Uber were fined P5 million each yesterday for some violations, particularly accepting new drivers despite a suspension order from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
But they also heard good news from the LTFRB.
The public transport regulator, according to a CNN Philippines report, confirmed that it would not cancel Grab or Uber’s accreditation, because the agency recognizes that commuters do benefit from their services.
That’s an important acknowledgment from LTFRB, which has sometimes acted as though it did not appreciate the role that transport network companies (TNCs) could play in making our roads less congested and giving passengers more choices.
True, LTFRB decided to allow Uber to operate anywhere in the Philippines, the first time the ride-hailing company received a nationwide goahead anywhere in the world.
But the transportation department also made the requirements so stringent (requiring the use of a new vehicle, a certificate of public convenience, a GPS navigation system, a professional driver’s license, and at least 16 government permits, according to an Uber executive), that it blocked many potential drivers from signing up.
When they started, peer-to-peer platforms like Uber and Grab were hailed for offering incentives for sharing rides. This was supposed to help decongest roads, because excess spaces in private cars would be shared by passengers, who would no longer be limited to buses, jeepneys or taxis when deciding how to get (safely and comfortably) to their destinations.
In the past two years, however, the platforms have run into some troubles. Uber, in particular, got hit on at least two fronts: its allegedly destructive and sexist workplace culture and its use, according to the New York Times, of a program called Greyball to keep local regulators from getting Uber rides.
The LTFRB’s decision to fine Grab and Uber is a necessary one. It signals the agency’s commitment to enforce the rules needed to keep commuters and roads safe. Now its challenge is to remove unnecessary restrictions to help Grab, Uber and similar future networks unleash the potential benefits of ride-sharing or car-pooling—something that government has failed, on its own, to do.