SOME provisions of the department order that listed rules and regulations for tech-based ride-hailing services should be reviewed and amended in order to maximize what a ranking official of tech company Uber claimed as the present solution to the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila.
Uber Philippines General Manager Laurence Cua said the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila can be partly untangled through the use of technology, particularly ride-sharing apps, such as his company’s.
Carpooling, he said, is the present solution to the current traffic problem. In a nutshell, sharing a ride with a total stranger than booking for a taxi service alone means lesser cars on the road.
Uber’s newest service, dubbed as Uber Pool, has contributed significantly to savings in mileage, fuel, and even carbon footprint.
Data from Uber showed in the pas two months and a half, around 121,000 commuters used Uber Pool. During that period, there were 1.5 million kilometers freed off the roads, with 75,000 liters of fuel saved and 175 metric tons of carbon dioxide off the atmosphere.
“Carpooling is a means to solve the traffic congestion in Metro Manila. It doesn’t require us to put in new investments. The tech is here, and ride sharing is here, so the solution that we are offering is something that will not require years. It is a multifaceted solution,” Cua said.
But the suspension of the application process for new transport network vehicle services (TNVS) will only do more harm than good, Cua said, as this slows down the budding carpooling culture in Metro Manila.
“There’s a bit of misperception there. What they are not clearly understanding is a lot of cars on Uber are not full time,” Cua said.
He said half of the Uber driver partners spend only 10 hours per week, or about two hours per day, driving around Metro Manila.
“They must understand the 23,000 submitted applications are not actually new cars,” he said.
The transportation department has suspended the application process for new TNVS due to the volume of pending ones with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Data from the regulator showed there are 27,062 applications received, involving 29,151 units.
Broken down, there are 4,808 Grab franchise applications, involving 5,727 units; 22,126 Uber franchise applications, involving 23,293 units; and 128 Uhop applicants, with 131 units.
This means some applications involve more than one vehicle.
When the ban is lifted, which Cua hopes to be soon, the government should also ease the application process to help promote the idea of carpooling.
“The original department order was about promoting mobility. It’s really in the LTFRB memo there are a lot of things we would love to discuss—like reducing the number of documents, a provision which is patterned on older laws when the Internet was nonexistent,” Cua said.
He said his company is also keen on proposing to amend the provisions on the age of the vehicles.
“It doesn’t have to be a car which is 3 years old or below. When we first launched Uber here, we accepted cars as old as 7 years old, but are still clean, comfortable and safe. We realized that such a provision is not needed,” Cua said.
“We shouldn’t slow down ride sharing. We should encourage it,” he said.
1 comment
Thousands unregulated Uber drivers flock my city and make traffic worse. If in the past these teenagers were taking mass transit – now they go to Uber office and get Toyota Camry leases for no-money down. They are peddling the exact opposite of truth.