Cebu to use Uber system to maximize use of city vehicles

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña. (CDN FILE PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

CEBU CITY — No more government vehicles bringing employees or officials and their families to the beach or mall.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña said this was one of the biggest benefits of a program, called uberGov, which he launched with the ride-hailing app company Uber on Friday at City Hall.

“This allows us to make sure (the vehicles) were being used properly,” the mayor said in a Facebook post after launching uberGov with Laurence Cua, Uber Philippines general manager.

“No more overpriced vehicles with missing spare parts,” said the mayor. “No more sick drivers being paid to do nothing. No more fuel stolen from gas tanks. No more red plate vehicles used to bring employees’ families to the beach or mall,” he said.

Under uberGov, one city government car could make three to four trips a day instead of just being parked and their drivers idle.

Initially six city government cars would be enrolled in the program.

Osmeña said Uber “will let us use its system to monitor where the vehicles are in real time.”

“Efficiency is what technology can do,” Cua said after the launch of uberGov.

Through uberGov, Osmeña said, the city government could track employees’ movements “to make sure they’re actually doing their jobs.”

“The days of government employees abusing taxpayer-owned vehicles are finally Uber,” said Osmeña in his post.

The city government will also enter into a separate agreement with another ride-hailing app firm, Grab, to organize and track employees’ transport costs.

“Overpricing is next to impossible,” he said. —DORIS MAE MONDRAGON AND INNA GIAN MEJIA