Senate committee steps in

A grounding of Uber and Grab vehicles, which many commuters have come to rely on, could lead to a “transport crisis,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto warned on Wednesday.
/Inquirer file photo

Transportation Network Companies will continue to serve to commuters while the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) resolves their appeal for a reconsideration of the board’s decision to already suspend their operation.

Senator Grace Poe said the solution was reached during a closed-door meeting with TNCs — Grab and Uber — and LTFRB called by the Committee on Public Services on Wednesday.

“The public uproar caused by the issuance of LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2016-008, suspending the acceptance of applications for (Transport Network Vehicle Services) TNVS in Metro Manila made it necessary for our committee, the committee on public services, to step in,” said Poe in a press statement after the meeting.

Poe said that while there is a need to allow LTFRB to regulate public transport, the need for TNVS cannot also be disregarded.

“Let us allow the LTFRB to do its job. They have to regulate common carriers to ensure accountability and to prevent the ‘dynamic pricing scheme’ of TNVS from overcharging passengers during peak hours. On the other hand, government must be forward-looking. Ride-hailing services is now a necessity because these provide the comfort and reliability that many of our people look for in public transportation,” Poe said.

Poe said that LTFRB and TNCs agreed to reach a “win-win solution” during their meeting.

Grab and Uber agreed to share their data with LTFRB to help the board in crafting guidelines that will consider the actual number of TNVs on the road and not just the TNVs that have been issued accreditation.

LTFRB, on the other hand, will push with the implementation of Memorandum Circular No. 2016-008 and will allow TNCs to file their motion for reconsideration on said memorandum.

Poe said that the LTFRB has agreed to allow “colorum” TNVS to continue to serve their riding public pending resolution of the TNCs’ motion.

Both parties have also made a commitment to attend public hearings that Poe will be calling in relation to Senate Bill No. 1501 or the Transportation Network Services Act that seeks to institutionalize and regulate ride-hailing services which she passed in Senate.

The dispute over the franchise of providers TNVS might lead to a “transport crisis,” Senate Pro Tempore Ralph Recto warned on Wednesday, as Senators Joel Villanueva and Bam Aquino pressed for a Senate inquiry on the issue.

For this reason, Recto urged Malacañang to treat the possible grounding of Uber and Grab cars in Metro Manila as a “transport crisis” comparable to a “total MRT breakdown or a paralyzing jeepney strike.”