LTFRB member calls for limit to vehicles operating under Uber, Grab

MANILA — There should be a limit to the number of vehicles allowed to operate under the transport network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Grab, an official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said in a dissenting opinion on a recent consolidated order.

“If we accredit other TNCs, are we simply going to grant unlimited provisional authorities to its TNVS (transport network vehicle service)? Are we not going to consider that an unlimited number of TNVS will aggravate the worsening traffic?” Board member Ariel Inton said in his dissenting opinion.

The LTFRB recently denied for lack of merit the omnibus opposition filed by 1-United Transport Koalisyon (1-Utak) to cancel Uber’s accreditation and to deny all TNVS applications for franchise—or the certificate of public convenience (CPC).

1-Utak decried that the partner vehicles of Uber and Grab has been allowed to operate during a moratorium on the issuance of franchise for other public utility vehicles.

Technology providers of app-based hailing services were named TNCs while their accredited vehicles were called TNVS under the department order on mobility issued by the Department of Transportation and Communications in May 2015

As of Feb. 23, the LTFRB has received 12,223 applications for CPC for both Uber and Grab. Since one operator may be applying for more than one vehicle, the total units add up to 13,784. At least one application wants to register 30 vehicles.

Some units have been granted provisional authorities to operate but no CPC has been issued to any TNVS, Inton said.

While he agrees with the decision of the board, Inton said the issue on limiting TNVS should be looked into.

There’s also the problem of some TNVS operating even without a provisional authority, such as in the case of Uber driver Nicolo Lizaso who threatened a passenger with a metal pipe. He was ordered to pay a fine of P200,000 for operating as “colorum.”  SFM