Ride-sharing platform Uber expressed concerns over potential new regulations for transport network companies by the country’s Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB),BusinessWorld reported.
The LTFRB proposed limiting the number of vehicles used for transport services and requiring a minimum number of hours of operation for drivers.
Uber Philippines GM Laurence Cua said in a press briefing requiring a minimum number of hours would result in many part-time drivers losing an additional source of income. He noted about 60 per cent of Uber drivers in the country operate on a part-time basis.
Cua said Uber supports regulations to give the transport service a single franchise instead of having to approve applications for individual transport network vehicles, BusinessWorld reported.
The LTFRB began to crack down on illegal transport services on 11 July, which Cua said is forcing many drivers to quit and created a large gap between supply and demand, with about 200,000 requests from riders going unfulfilled each week.
Damian Kassabgi, Uber head of policy for Asia Pacific, said the Philippines set high entry barriers for ride-sharing companies, with a new permit requiring 16 documents and three months to process. In addition, the three-year age limit for cars to operate is stricter than the regulations in Singapore (ten years), Australia (eight years) and Vietnam (12 years), the newspaper said.
Uber launched its carpooling service in Manila in June 2016, its second city in Southeast Asia to offer UberPool.
