Is it over for Uber?

                Metro Manila traffic is fast becoming the stuff of legends. It has been a subject of many news that the traffic conditions in our capital is being labelled as one of the worst if not the worst traffic conditions there is out there. But there is an old saying… “Necessity is the mother of all inventions”. Although we are very far from coming up with a solution to the traffic we Metro Manila residents experience all day everyday there are a few transport innovations that relieves us of some of the stresses this everyday predicament gives us. Enter the TNVS or Transport Network Vehicle Service or more popularly known as Uber and Grab car.

                To be honest I have very little opinion about the subject because as it is I am a bit of an old school and others may find me a bit of a cheapskate. That is because as a commuter I would rarely prefer to take a cab or this TNVS over the mass and public means of transportation. The cost of choosing to take a cab over riding a bus in my opinion is almost always never worth it. The closest time that I have been involved with the subject is when I brought my car a few months back and flirted with the idea of signing up my car with Uber because it was rumored to be a 1-day application process. But with a full-time job, law school and my duties at home I was not able to find that extra time to go through with it. But now there is word that there has been a Temporary Restraining Order issued stopping any further applications for Uber and Grab Car. For now, the flirtation to sign up for Uber is already an afterthought for me.

                But the TRO issued on Uber and Grab Car does raise a lot of issues. It is said that the law is meant to serve the people it governs. But did this TRO issued over TNVCs serve the common interest of the people? On one hand of this issue are the upper middle-class citizens who just have enough extra money to buy a car and just want to enjoy some extra income. And on the other, a group of public transport drivers who most of which are from the lower-class income and are crying foul after seeing their potential income lowered by this transport innovation. And in the middle, the multitude of commuters who I think are also divided on this issue. So how about me, where do I stand in this use? As unhelpful as it sounds, I would really prefer to keep my feet standing firmly in the middle of this one. There is a case to be made from both sides of the issue. I do feel for the jeepney and car drivers who many of which have their jobs as the only source of livelihood. But I do also feel for those Uber and Grab Car owners who are just taking advantage of the opportunity and a little extra income never hurt anyone especially in these trying times. I also feel for those many commuters whom I know does not have it easy travelling around the metro. It never hurts as well to have an extra option in cases wherein you are too tired to slug it out with your fellow commuters when you have that extra money to avail of the service.

                The issuance of the TRO I believe was a close one to call considering the two parties on the opposite sides of the issue does not represent a majority. For what it’s worth, I hope this is just a phase in what I think is a long road in resolving the traffic issue in Metro Manila which is the primary concern. If this is the end of the TNVS I hope that it leads to a solution that would finally resolve the issue as a whole and benefit us all and not just the few.