An LTFRB personnel shows to the media the check of the P190-million fine which Uber paid on Tuesday in exchange for the transport network company not serving its one-month suspension that was to end on Sept. 15.
/Inquirer photo
After being off the road for 15 days, Uber can now start serving passengers again following the lifting of its suspension by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
At 4:48 p.m. on Tuesday, LTFRB Board Member Aileen Lizada said the 36,000 drivers nationwide of the transportation network company (TNC) could resume its operations.
Lizada made the announcement after Uber paid a P190-million fine and after the LTFRB had verified that its drivers had indeed received the financial assistance due them.
The fine was in exchange for Uber not fully serving its one-month suspension.
Senator Grace Poe heaved a sigh of relief now that riding public would have other modes of transportation to take after Uber paid a hefty amount of P190 million in fine to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in order to lift the one-month suspension.
“I am happy that the riding public would somehow be able to regain its power in deciding what mode of public transportation to take after Uber paid the lofty and mind-boggling fine that the LTFRB imposed against the company,” Poe said in a statement on Tuesday.
Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, said it seems that the LTFRB “flexes its discretion as a whimsical regulator just for the sake of imposing regulations.”
“For the sake of the commuters, I am committed to complete as soon as possible the report on the TNVS (transport network vehicle services) bill that is currently undergoing TWG (technical working group) meetings. The TWG meetings aim to thresh out and address all related issues concerning the operation of Uber, Grab and the like,” she said.
“This way, we may avoid the recurrence of a similar suspension affecting the TNVS community, which is rooted on the apparent inability of the LTFRB to adjust and adapt to new technology,” Poe added.