The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is planning to review the surge pricing mechanism for app-based ride-hailing or Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS).
However, a TNVS group has voiced concerns about the move, saying it might result in losses or lower take-home pay for drivers amid the high cost of fuel and the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila.
In a message to GMA News Online, LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said the plan to slash surge fees was amid “a clamor from the public for the LTFRB to revisit the algorithm” used by the ride-hailing services.
Guadiz said the LTFRB “decided not only to review the surge fee, but likewise the flag-down fee.”
“We will first study their algorithm which is the basis for their surge fee. If after evaluation, we see the need to reduce their surge fee, we will issue an order to that effect. It is premature and inaccurate to conclude at this moment that the fees will be reduced into half,” he said.
“As a matter of due process and courtesy to the TNVS drivers, we will give the ride-hailing app companies (TNC) an opportunity to justify their rate. Then we will hear the drivers. It is only after a thorough hearing that the LTFRB can come up with a conclusion on whether to reduce the fees of the TNCS,” he added.
TNVS Community Philippines (TCP) said slashing the surge fee would result in a “bleak Christmas” for drivers as they “fear that this could substantially slash their take-home pay.”
“Malaki ang magiging epekto ng mga bagong regulasyon na ito sa kita ng mga TNVS drivers na babagtasin ang traffic na dulot ng kapaskuhan ngayong Disyembre. Maaaring malugi ang mga TNVS drivers sa gas, boundary, at iba pang gastusin lalo na at mas matagal ang kailangan naming biyayihin para sa parehas na distansya dahil sa traffic,” TCP said in a statement.
(The new regulation will have a huge impact on the earnings of TNVS drivers who will endure the Christmas rush traffic. TNVS drivers may lose money because of costs due to gas, boundary, and other expenses, especially now that we have to be on the road longer to travel the same distance.)
Surge fees, the group said, were the only means by which TNVS drivers could recoup their losses. It reminded the LTFRB that the surge fees were fully compliant with the regulations set by the government board itself.
“Nang dahil sa surge fee na aming nakukuha nang buo, kami ay nakakabawi mula sa mga dagdag na gastusin ngayong Kapaskuhan. Ang modelo at ceiling ng surge pricing ay alinsunod sa mga regulasyon na nailathala na ng LTFRB,” said TCP.
(Because of surge frees, we have been able to slowly recoup our extra expenses this Holiday season. The model and ceiling of surge pricing is aligned with the LTRFRB regulations.)
The TCP urged the LTFRB to conduct a dialogue with affected drivers as this was a key component of the transportation sector.
Guadiz, for his part, said that the “we commiserate with the sentiments of the TNVS drivers.”
“However, the LTFRB is not created by the law to favor any single party, but the public in general. The agency has to exact a balancing act between the interest of the public and that of the TNVS drivers,” he said. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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