Uber told to secure accreditation

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is reminding ridesharing mobile app Uber to secure government accreditation.

Speaking at the 13th Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative held yesterday, DOTC Secretary Joseph Abaya said the company has yet to secure accreditation with the government.

He said the company is advised to apply for accreditation with the government “otherwise, we start apprehending their vehicles.”

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Winston Ginez told reporters the agency has reached out to Uber to remind the company to seek accreditation as a Transportation Network Company (TNC).

“( We) talked to their public policy director (who) said they are applying with us already in the next few weeks,” he said.

In May, the LTFRB issued guidelines to provide a regulatory framework for firms offering online private vehicle booking services.

Under the guidelines, TNCs would be required to obtain a certificate of public convenience from the LTFRB for every vehicle to ensure accountability.

Drivers must likewise be screened and accredited by the TNCs and registered with the LTFRB for passenger safety.

“We are awaiting their application. As the Secretary has said, if not, then we’ll start apprehension,” Ginez said.

GrabCar, the private vehicle hiring service of mobile app GrabTaxi, secured its accreditation as a TNC earlier this month.

Ginez said GrabCar is now working on the accreditation of individual cars.

At present, he said only Uber and GrabCar are offering the mobile app based private vehicle booking services in the country.