Only 1,500 taxi cabs for 10,000 tourists arriving in PH daily

THE NINOY Aquino International Airport (Naia) has only 1,500 accredited taxis for around 10,000 tourists who arrive in the country daily and need a ride to get to their next destination.

This was among the findings of the Senate committee on tourism chaired by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara which looked into the plight of local and foreign tourists who were overcharged or victimized by unscrupulous airport taxi drivers.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Angara said there was a lack of transport for passengers because only 1,500 airport taxis were accredited either by the Department of Tourism or the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

Of the 50,000 passengers who pass through the Naia terminals, 10,000 passengers ride in airport taxis to get to their next destination, he noted.

“That’s why I said [during the hearing] that we need to add more accredited taxis, speed up the accreditation process because the committee found out it takes two months to process the different applications,” Angara said. He also pushed for the accreditation of car-sharing services like Uber and Grab car as airport taxis. Christine O. Avendaño