THE recent kerfuffle between the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and transport network companies such as Grab and Uber illustrates all too well what is wrong with government agencies and the bureaucrats that head them—regardless of who is in power.
The row started when the government agency fined Grab and Uber millions of pesos for permit violations and announced it would go after thousands of unauthorized Grab and Uber units. Grab and Uber drivers shot back that a growing number of them operated without permits simply because the LTFRB suspended the issuance of provisional authority permits in July last year.
The latest compromise reached between the two sides—the LTFRB agreed to hold off arresting Uber and Grab drivers and continue talks while the TNCs appeal their alleged permit violations—is just a temporary solution at best and does not address the main problem of an unresponsive government bureaucracy that is more concerned with imposing restrictions than finding ways to make life easier for working men and women.
Faced with a new way of doing things—such as applications where passengers can book a ride using their mobile phones—the bureaucrat’s first instinctive response is to find ways to regulate—and tax—the service, or threaten to have it discontinued.
In cracking the whip on Grab and Uber, LTFRB officials claimed that the safety of passengers was foremost on their minds, but their subsequent statements made it clear that they were more concerned with flexing their regulatory muscles than looking out for the ordinary commuter.
Besides, if the LTFRB were truly concerned about the welfare of the commuter, should it not first crack down on the continued operation of aging, ramshackle taxis that reek of body odor and poor air conditioning? Should it not do something first about unscrupulous taxi drivers who pressure passengers into paying above the meter rate because traffic is so bad, or who refuse fares simply because their destination is inconvenient?
In a free-market economy, consumers vote with their wallets. There is a market-driven reason that Grab and Uber have become popular among commuters, who prefer a safe, convenient and comfortable ride with a pre-determined rate—without a sleazy driver angling for more money.
In short, commuters are willing to pay more to ride in unregistered Grab and Uber vehicles, than put up with the odious experience of riding in a registered taxi.
Of course, TNCs need to be regulated, but agencies tasked with this job should not, as a first course of action, threaten to penalize the very commuters whom they claim to protect.