MANILA, July 18 — The Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and transport network vehicle services (TNVS) Grab and Uber must be prepared to compromise to provide the public with safe and convenient transportation.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, made this statement Tuesday noting that he would call for a meeting with all parties to come up with a compromise before July 26.
“I will call for a meeting to mediate and come up with a compromise for both parties before July 26. I am not siding with anyone on this issue,” Ejercito said in a press statement.
LTFRB earlier announced that starting July 26, Grab and Uber drivers without franchises will be fined PHP120,000 and their vehicles impounded for three months should they continue to operate.
Ejercito pointed out that LTFRB, Grab and Uber should be willing to consider “all remedies” without disregarding the law.
He further said that all parties should consider that they should act on their “shortcomings” in providing safe and convenient public transportation.
The senator said the LTFRB should consider the reason why TNVS are thriving is because they offer “far better and more convenient services than regular taxis.”
On the other hand, he said TNVS like Grab and Uber should also comply with the board’s requirements.
He said that if the LTFRB is persistent in implementing a service ban on Grab and Uber, they should just be as persistent in addressing complaints of passengers trying to hail taxis.
LTFRB has reiterated that Grab and Uber have violated its rules as they were operating TNVS without certificates of public convenience (CPC) or provisional authority (PA).
The board issued this statement amid a petition circulating on social media that calls for the lifting of the suspension of the moratorium on the granting of new franchises for Transport Network Companies (TNCs).
The LTFRB clarified that ride sharing services are not suspended but only those with CPCs or PAs may be allowed to operate.
Both Uber and Grab have stated that they will not deactivate their partner drivers for the meantime as they seek to coordinate with the government to craft policies that aim to ensure a level playing field among TNVS and taxi operators and improve the quality of public transportation in the country. (Azer N. Parrocha/PNA)
