A lawmaker said the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) must embrace innovation and provide some leeway to transport start-ups, which provide safe and affordable means of transportation to the commuting public.
“The government should encourage innovation, not curtail it. The LTFRB must give these transport start ups some leeway as we review current laws on franchising,” said Sen. Bam Aquino, chairman of the Senate committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship
The neophyte lawmaker issued the statement as LTFRB started last week the crackdown on Uber car services, saying the start-up firm needs to secure a franchise as a common carrier.
Aquino said the LTFRB can provide the transport start-ups such as Uber, Tripid, GrabTaxi and EasyTaxi, some latitude, the same way it provided provisional authority to cargo trucks and new buses to ply their routes
“The government needs all the help it can get, especially from the private sector, as it continues to find ways to improve the country’s mass transport system and solve the perennial traffic problem,” the senator said.
Aquino describes Uber as an innovation as it provides commuters with a safer mode of transportation and quality service at the same time.
Uber is a high-tech transportation network that makes mobile apps that connect passengers with drivers of private vehicles for hire and car-pooling services.
The company arranges pick-ups wherein cars are reserved by sending a text message or by using a mobile app and within 10 minutes the vehicle would arrive
The uber system helps alleviate the monstrous traffic problems in California, especially through car-pooling.
“The government should not hold back innovations that alleviate the plight of our commuting public,” the senator said.
