Uber exec: We’ll do everything to get our drivers back on road

The management of Uber vowed on Wednesday to exhaust all legal means available for their drivers to ply the roads again after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) suspended the ride-hailing firm’s operation for 30 days.

READ: Poe holds closed-door meeting with LTFRB, Uber execs

Uber regional general manager Mike Brown assured drivers and riders that the Uber management will act as “as fast as (they) can” for the firm to resume its operations.

“Our business doesn’t exist without the drivers and riders. We love our drivers and we will do everything that we can to get them back on the road as soon as possible so they can earn for themselves and their families,” Brown said in an ambush interview.

“That’s our number one priority and for the citizens who use Uber every day,” said Brown, who represented Uber during a meeting with the LTFRB at the Senate.

Uber Regional General Manager Mike Brown. Photo by Julliane Love de Jesus/INQUIRER.net

Senator Grace Poe, chairman of the public services committee, called for the closed-door hearing in a bid to iron out the mess surrounding the transport company.

The LTFRB, however, stood by its ground saying it is maintaining its decision to suspend Uber operations as the latter defied the LTFRB’s order to stop accepting applications.

The Uber then committed to pay a fine worth “millions of pesos” to the LTFRB. Uber’s appeal for the LTFRB to convert the penalty from suspension to paying a fine will be discussed in a board meeting on Wednesday, August 23.

The Uber executive apologized to the LTFRB for the “misunderstanding.”

Brown explained: “A prior (LTFRB) order that we interpreted to mean don’t put any more new cars on the road and we followed to a tee but it appears that the order was also intended to encapsulate inviting drivers to express interest in Uber and we were inviting drivers to express interest but we were not putting cars on the road so we thought that we had met the requirements of the LTFRB but we were, in some ways, mistaken on that front and we acknowledge and we really want to work with them.”

Brown said Uber will commit to follow and respect the policies that will be imposed by the regulatory body.

He also thanked those who expressed support for Uber.

“They’ve been incredibly supportive and vocal about their love for Uber and we just want to thank them for everything that they’ve done for us and we’re gonna work hard to get Uber back up and running here in the Philippines just as fast as we can,” Brown said. JPV