THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is ready to modernize the rules on public transportation, but proper review must first be done, a government official said.
This was the statement of LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez amid issues hounding the legality of online-enabled transportation services.
In line with this, the agency will hold a public hearing on Monday to flesh out the issue on the regulation of online-enabled transportation services tapped by private vehicles to render transport service.
“We would like to hear the side of those who own vehicles that use the modern technology to offer transport services before we approve an updated regulation,” Ginez said.
Invited are taxi-ordering mobile- application operators Uber, GrabTaxi, Easy Taxi, Tripid and Tripida.
Earlier this week, the House Committee on Transportation and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority held a meeting to inquire on the engagement of these companies in taxi services, even without the required authority from the regulator.
Several resolutions were approved by congressional committees during the meeting, including the review of information-technology solutions, in response to the worsening road congestion in Metro Manila and the environs. Ginez said he plans to discuss this issue during the public hearing on Monday.
“The board is ready to embrace new technology that can improve public land transportation and promote safety of the public, but we also have an obligation to exercise our duty to regulate public services,” he pointed out.
Section 18 of Commonwealth Act 146, or the Public Service Act, states that it is unlawful for any individual or corporation to engage in any public-service business, like transportation of passengers for hire or compensation, without having first secured a franchise from the Public Service Commission, now the LTFRB.
Under the law, violators face imprisonment or fines or both. Ginez earlier ran after carpooling-services provider Uber as its operations were declared illegal. It was the first app-based taxi-ordering company to be stopped by the regulator.
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, however, countered this move, saying the government should support, rather than curb, the use of technology in solving transport problems in the country.
The Department of Transportation and Communications and the LTFRB have started drafting amendments to the regulation that currently classify vehicles offering services through Uber and similar apps as illegal or “colorum.”
Aside from pushing to expedite the process of updating old rules to meet today’s technologies, the transport agency is also formulating a taxi-reform program in order to mandate improved services to the public.