The war between the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and carpooling-services provider Uber Philippines has finally come to an end, a Cabinet official reported.
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said government officials and executives of Uber Philippines and Uber Singapore met on Monday to review current traffic laws and, subsequently, modernize them.
He said the officials were searching “for ways for rules and regulations to support—rather than stifle—innovations which improve services to the public.”
“Both sides came to the table to find concrete ways to make government regulations more in tune with today’s technologies. We all agreed on two things: first, Uber’s services are for the people’s benefit; and, second, regulation is a must for public safety and order,” he said.
LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez and Executive Director Roberto P. Cabrera III, who both participated in the meeting, proposed several means by which applicable rules may be updated in order to accommodate similar information-technology-based solutions within the legal framework.
The regulators indicated that such services may fall under the existing “vehicle-for-hire” category, and that the corresponding rules could be updated in order to encourage the use of similar technologies across other public land-transport services, including taxis.
“The LTFRB made it clear that government regulation is a must where public services are concerned. After all, this is not only a requirement of law, it is meant to protect the public,” Abaya said.
Uber’s representatives shared their previous experiences in other countries, which, likewise, clamped down on the technology company’s unregulated services, citing new legislation in the US as well as the adjusted policies in Singapore, to show that both long-term and immediate reforms are possible in the Philippines.
The LTFRB will now craft an updated set of rules applicable to vehicles-for-hire that would accommodate modern solutions, while Uber will submit reforms done in other countries to modernize its own land-transport regulations.
“We will always push for anything that modernizes the country’s transport systems under my watch. The government welcomes tech solutions to transport problems and, fortunately, Uber also wants to work with us to make it happen,” Abaya said.
All sides agreed that ensuring passenger safety remains the top priority. Thus, safety measures will include Uber’s current practices of requiring passenger insurance to be provided by each of its partner-driver, as well as safety inspections to ensure the roadworthiness of its vehicles.
The LTFRB also wants access to the identities of Uber drivers for security reasons.
“Our aim is to encourage the use of even more technologies and innovations across all forms of public land transport. Our taxi reform program, for instance, could adopt similar services, such as centralized booking, passenger access to driver identities, and tracking systems for lost-and-found items,” Abaya added.
Ginez earlier ran after the carpooling-services provider, as it was earlier deemed illegal. Uber was the first application-based taxi-ordering firm to be apprehended.