Too Much is Dangerous

Your work starts at 8:30 but you’re still at home at 7:30. Travel time runs in an hour or so. Tired for a whole day shop in the mall and the taxi lane is too long. You have to wait for hours before you get a ride. Too hot to have a jeepney ride that you don’t want to hassle yourself on travel. These are just some of the situations encountered by a number of commuters within Metro Manila.

Thanks to the business-minded as amidst the hustle and bustle of our daily lives is a continuing development of ways to cope and stay on track. Book a car online and it will be right where you are in just a few minutes. These are called transport network vehicle services (TNVS) pioneered in the Philippines by Uber and GrabCar. 

Just recently, however, a lot of commuters have expressed their disappointment when a Quezon City judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) suspending the acceptance of Uber and Grabcar applications for 20 days favoring the petition of a group of taxi operators. It was actually misunderstood as stopping of current operations of the said companies. The court clarified that it is the applications of future units and not the operations of existing ones.

In a CNN report, the petitioner group of taxi drivers argued that the operation of Uber and GrabCar not having a franchise is against the law and they are charging passengers without following the tariff rules issued by the LTFRB. The group further said that income of those driving transport utilities with franchise is affected. Uber and GrabCar on the other hand, assured that they will comply with government regulations and continue to provide quality service to the public. 

I am not against Uber and Grabcar but I favor the issuance of the TRO. It does not mean, however, that I am on the side of the group of taxi drivers. I believe that the TRO is aptly issued to regulate the rising number of TNVS which if left uncontrolled, aggravates the congested roads of Metro Manila. I am in favor of the TRO considering the public in general and not any of these parties in particular. 

 LTFRB board member Ariel Inton said in an interview that about seven thousand units applied for TNVS and there is already a cut throat competition among them. This is huge enough adding to the heavy traffic we experience every day. TNVS has been highly patronized on the outset and believed to have solved some of the problems of commuters. In effect, more and more unit owners continue to apply as this business had grown fast in just a couple of months. If this continues, however, travel time would even triple, pollution would worsen, and in the long run, possible insolvency when too much units compete. 
I appreciate the operations of TNVS aiding in the transportation problems of our commuters. However, it is my belief that along with the high demand of its services calls for a stricter regulation of the government. The TRO would have been issued in view of the sentiments of the group of taxi drivers. But it could also be a way not to cross its limits given the continuous rise of TNVS applicants.