Lift moratorium on ridesharing, gov’t urged

Uber Philippines is urging the government to lift a year-long suspension on the processing of new driver applications for ridesharing companies like Uber and Grab, its top official in the country said.

The moratorium was placed on the fast-growing ridesharing sector in July 2016, putting on hold thousands of new applications. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ordered the suspension, saying it needed to review existing guidelines. A year later, nothing has come out of that review.

In a briefing with reporters yesterday, Uber Philippines president Laurence Cua asked the government to lift the suspension, saying demand for ridesharing was only growing and more drivers were needed.

“It will be a shame and lost opportunity for the many drivers who rely on Uber today,” Cua said. “Their livelihoods will be affected. Equally important are the passengers who use Uber.”

Cua said service quality had already been affected, with demand exceeding supply. He noted that some passengers have difficulty finding an Uber ride.

Uber is currently present in Metro Manila, nearby provinces and in Metro Cebu. Demand has been going up over the previous year’s level. Uber tracks this interest through the number of times users open the app.

This interest was from all over the country, with most of the prospective demand from central Luzon and Visayas, according to data shared by Uber Philippines.

“We continue to see a lot of people downloading and opening the app because they really are interested in a solution to their problems. People need to go from point A to Point B,” Cua said.

He said Uber officially had some 7,000 driver serving more than 680,000 passengers. New driver applications numbered in the “thousands,” he said. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS