Updated 9:47 p.m.
MANILA, Philippines — Ride-hailing firm Grab urged drivers on Thursday to “show utmost restraint” before taking action that could “negatively impact” the booking of rides.
The company issued the call after a group of transport network vehicles (TNVS) drivers and operators revealed plans to stage a “transport holiday” on Monday, July 8.
The group said they will temporarily stop operations and go offline for 12 hours. This will serve as a protest on their various complaints against the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
READ: TNVS drivers to stage nationwide ‘transport holiday’ on July 8
“We urge our TVNS partners to show utmost restraint before taking actions that could negatively impact the ability of passengers to book rides,” Grab public affairs manager Nicka Hosaka said in a statement.
While it recognizes the drivers’ right to free speech and peaceable assembly, Grab urged the drivers to work with regulators and passengers through a dialogue.
“In many ways, we also support the call for smoother processes and faster timelines,” Hosaka said. “Let us take the high road and to not resort to any rash actions that would directly affect the passengers we are all committed to serve.”
The ride-hailing firm earlier deactivated 5,000 drivers without provisional authority from its system as part of its compliance with the LTFRB.
For it part, the TNVS Community, the group planning to hold a “transport holiday,” said they are open to dialogue, and has actually been reaching out to the LTFRB.
“Individually and as a group they reached out to LTFRB,” Ariel Inton, chair of the Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection, told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview on behalf of the TNVS community.
“Pero walang nangyari (Nothing happened). It fell on deaf ears,” he added.
He said it’s about time that the LTFRB take the initiative to conduct a dialogue with the TNVS drivers and operators.
“I think as government officials, the initiative should come from them because the stakeholders have been trying to reach out even before this planned transport holiday,” Inton said. (Editor: Eden Estopace)
READ: Grab illegal drivers only 5,000, not 8,000