After waiting for over a year for authorities to process their permits, it has come to this.
Come July 26, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be apprehending drivers and impounding vehicles under ride-sharing companies Uber and Grab who fail to show their permits or franchises.
This is after sitting on Uber and Grab’s franchise applications for over a year and fining the companies PHP 5,000,000 each.
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Apprehended drivers will be penalized with a PHP 120,000 fine and the car in question will be impounded for three months.
According to a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Grab and Uber representatives admitted they listed thousands of accredited drivers in their databases despite these drivers not having franchises to operate from the LTFRB.”
LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada informed the Inquirer that “drivers with expired franchises but had applied for renewal would be allowed to continue using their cars” and both Uber and Grab must submit their updated list of drivers before July 30.
According to representatives, both ride-sharing apps have at least 56,000 accredited drivers but only about 3,700 drivers have been “authorized to operate.”
Journalist and car/driving aficionado James Deakin has expressed his disappointment over LTFRB’s decision, saying, “To think that with all the problems surrounding the LTFRB and our wretched PUVs, they choose to ‘fix’ the one thing that’s not broken. Thank you, guys.”
He continues, “This is such a sad day for not just the riding public but for Filipinos in general as the suspension that penalizes both the drivers and the public makes absolutely no sense at all.”
How do you feel about LTFRB’s decision of apprehending Uber and Grab drivers without franchises?
