GrabCar, Uber drive up business name registrations

A NEW wave of business has driven up the number of business name registrations of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the last quarter.

According to DTI Cebu Director Maria Elena Arbon, they observed an increasing number of Uber and Grab business name registrations in Cebu.

Preliminary data from DTI shows that there were 14,289 business names registered from January to November this year. This is an increase of 3.09 percent compared to the same period in 2015.

A growing number of commuters patronize the ride-sharing apps due to the “comfort and safety” they bring and the lack of public transportation options in Cebu.

Globally, the likes of Uber and Grab are classified as transportation network vehicle services (TNVS).

Likewise, Grab and Uber drivers said they are also encouraged to drive for their passengers, as this spells income opportunities on top of the generous incentives provided to them by transportation network companies.

Ronald (real name withheld upon request), 52, has been driving for both Uber and GrabCar for two months now. He was an office clerk working in Cebu City, and in September he joined Uber with his Hyundai Eon unit. In October, he joined GrabCar and became a full-time driver.

“Nindot ang income diri. Daghan incentives. Ug ako ra pod mag control sa akoang oras (I earn a good income here. There are lots of incentives and I have my own time),” he told Sun. Star Cebu yesterday.

Based on informal conversations with Grab and Uber drivers in the past, they said they earn at least 30,000 a month, excluding the incentives.

Zaide Bation, DTI Cebu Consumer Welfare Division chief, said Uber and Grab registrations accounted for 15 percent of the fourth quarter figures.

“Grab and Uber require them to have a business name registration (with DTI),” Bation said in Cebuano.

“It is the new line of business that sprouted in the fourth quarter,” she noted. This, despite the government regulator’s issues with Grab and Uber.

Early this month, LTFRB 7 said applicants for TNVS in Cebu can temporarily operate from Dec. 15 to Jan. 30, 2017 to augment public utility vehicles during Christmas and Sinulog festival.

LTFRB 7 Assistant Regional Director Rey Elnar said the 45day provisional authority is only good for new Uber and GrabCar applicants and clarified that they will no longer issue PA renewals. He said that once the 45-day period lapses, GrabCar and Uber vehicles are considered colorum.