A House leader on Saturday asked Congress anew to pass a law overhauling the regulatory framework for ride-hailing services.
Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur aired the call on Saturday following reports that the government accredited two more transport network companies (TNCs) last year and opened 20,000 new slots for vehicles providing ride-hailing services.
He said transferring control over transport network vehicle services (TNVS) and TNCs from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to the Department of Transportation, which he has proposed under House Bill 6467, should now be strongly considered by the Congress, given these new developments in this sector.
“With this sector expanding because of ever-increasing demand, both the Executive and the Congress should recognize the fact that TNCs and TNVS require a different regulatory environment. Overregulation leads to a deterioration, rather an improvement, of services that this sector provides,” Villafuerte, a deputy majority leader, said.
Villafuerte renewed his call for the swift approval of HB 6467 after the LTFRB accredited two new mobile ride-hailing companies—RYD Global Inc. and Aztech Solution International Corp.—that raised the number of TNCs to nine. It also opened another 20,000 slots for accreditation of TNVS.
Online applications for new Certificate of Public Convenience for TNVS started on Dec. 17, while the acceptance of applications started on Jan. 3.
Villafuerte said TNVS connected to TNCs like Grab or Hype, are not like taxicabs that are public or common carriers.
He pointed out that TNVS are private cars whose owners can opt to sign in or sign off anytime from the ride-hailing platform, unlike taxis that are obligated to provide services because they are classified as common carriers.
“A common carrier is a public service, and thus, is subject to strict regulation by the government,” Villafuerte said.
He added that “revamping the existing regulations for drivers of TNVS attached to TNCs and transferring control over these providers from LTFRB to the DOTr would make the government more responsive to the needs of the riding public.”
He said “the LTFRB has been coming up with ill-conceived guidelines for TNVS because of its misguided interpretation on the role of these service providers.”
For one, the LTFRB treats TNVS as common carriers like taxicabs and passenger buses when the nature of the service they provide clearly show that they are not, Villafuerte noted.
In filing HB 6467, Villafuerte said it is the DOTr, and not the LTFRB that should have authority over TNCs and TNVS, because the vehicles used in these point-to-point (P2P) transport services are “private carriers” and not common or public carriers that fall under LTFRB supervision.
He also said TNCs do not provide transportation services but merely link a potential customer with a third party driver or TNVS–and are thus not parties to a transportation contract.
