Uber, Grab applicants to operate temporarily

CUIZON

Mandaue traffic group wants to avoid repeat of heavy traffic during mall sale

TO avoid the repeat of traffic congestion that occurred last Saturday during a mall-wide sale, the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM) will be requesting the Mandaue City Council to pass a resolution mandating all shopping malls to inform them of their sale schedules so they can prepare a traffic management plan.

In an interview with reporters, TEAM chief of operations Glenn Antigua emphasized that the strong coordination between the shopping malls and the traffic administration is vital in ensuring a smooth and peaceful traffic condition in the upcoming holiday shopping.

“Importante ang coordination kay kung wala, magka-yagaw gyud ang karsada (Coordination is important for without it, the roads will be in chaos),” Antigua said.

The plan to push for the passage of the resolution came after traffic gridlock was experienced last December 3 along U.N. Avenue as a result of a mall-wide sale that took place from 7 a.m. to 12 midnight. Antigua said traffic within the area could have been avoided had the mall informed them ahead of the scheduled sale.

Because no information about the sale that day was relayed to them, most traffic enforcers went on a day off, resulting to lesser manpower along the roads surrounding the mall.

As a resolve and to solicit the cooperation of the malls, Antigua said he will raise the suggestion in their TEAM board meeting today at 2 p.m. and request councilman Elstone Dabon,  chairman of the committee on transportation, communication and public utilities,  to issue a resolution.

Last Saturday’s snail-paced traffic also caused inconvenience to commuters bound for the north since passenger jeepneys and tricycles resorted to trip-cutting probably to save time and effort.

“This is clearly a violation. What we do is we flag down these drivers, get their tricycle’s body number and issue them a violation of trip-cutting,” Antigua said.

He said passengers may report complaints on trip-cutting to the TEAM command center at the Mandaue City Hall or post a photo of the tricycle with body number and post it on the I Am Mandaue TEAM Facebook page.

Meanwhile, applicants for transport network vehicle services (TNVs) in Cebu can now temporarily operate from December 15 to January 30, 2017 to augment public utility vehicles during Christmas and Sinulog festival.

Only those applicants who submitted complete requirements will be given provisional authority (PA) by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7). These transport network vehicle services, such as Grabcar and Uber, can only operate for 45 days, the number of days allowed under the PA.

After 45 days, the unit is considered colorum and the applicant cannot re-apply for another PA.

LTFRB-7 Regional Director Ahmed Cuizon said they are still reviewing 700 applications for Uber and Grabcar to determine who among them are eligible for provisional transport permits.

LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra gave a go signal to Cuizon last week to review the pending applications.

Cuizon said applications under review are those submitted before Delgra announced the suspension of application for franchise last September 8.

“We see the LTFRB-7’s issuance of Provisional Authority for TNVs drivers as a positive step towards the mutual goal of improving the public transportation system in Cebu. It has always been our goal to service Cebuanos and we’re very glad to finally see it progress — we stand by our belief that Cebuanos deserve safe and hassle-free public transport,” Grabcar Philippines said in its official statement.