Uber against cap on number of TNVS that can operate in PH

It’s been two weeks since the government called out Grab and Uber drivers over franchising permit violations and the saga is far from over, with Uber Philippines now expressing concerns over Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) intention to limit the number of drivers that can operate these ride-sharing platforms.

Uber Philippines General Manager Laurence Cua said what concerns the company now is the intention of the government to put a cap on the number of the transportation network vehicle service (TNVS) that can operate in the country.

“What concerns us is the concept of limiting the number of drivers and cars that can be part of this system. There is a misconception that the demand is stagnant. But in fact, more and more people are finding it useful,” Cua said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday.

LTFRB member and spokesperson Aileen Lizada was quoted saying a few days ago that the cap could address the worsening congestion in Metro Manila.

“We need to address how many (drivers) are active in a day. How many are online and what time? At the end of all the technical working group (meetings), we will have the numbers,” she said in a previous Manila Bulletin report.

When this particular issue was mentioned in the briefing, Cua was quick to defend Uber, saying that ride-sharing system is here to solve “other issues” such as making available more options for the riding public.

For his part, Damian Kassabgi, Uber Asia Pacific Head of Public Policy, said this government has not been “demand responsive.”

As a result of Uber’s suspension, there are around 200,000 requests from riders that go unfullfied each week, which means that commuters struggle to find other means of transportation.

Lizada said that only around 14,000 TNVS are allowed to operate everyday, of which 3,700 have already been given franchises, while 10,000 have pending applications.

Uber’s accreditation as a transport network company (TNC) is expiring this month and Cua said the company is willing to resolve issues with the government first before they can renew.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) member and spokesperson Aileen Lizada said they aim to release before the end of 2017 the revised guidelines on regulating the operations of TNCs and transport network vehicles services (TNVS).

Today, a terminal working group (TWG) composed of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), LTFRB officials, and representatives of Grab and Uber, will meet to discuss the issues on the ride-sharing transport sector.

Uber was also given until today to answer the show cause order that has been recently issued against them by the LTFRB for allegedly activating new drivers despite its suspension order.

“We have stopped activating since July 19 but we continue to accept new applications. We halted activations since July 19 so we have been in compliance with the request for almost two weeks now,” Cua said.

As of now, there are about 30,000 Uber drivers servicing active users.