Careful balance needed on regulation of TNCs

ON Tuesday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) slapped fines of P5 million each on popular transport network companies (TNCs) Grab and Uber, mainly for deploying vehicles without certificates of public convenience, or franchises. Grab, for instance, was found to have 28,000 vehicles, but only 4,000 have permits, confirming suspicions that many of its vehicles on the road are, in local slang, “colorum” or illegal.

The decision, however, can still be considered a victory for Grab and Uber, as the LTFRB could have banned their vehicles from the roads entirely, but did not. The LTFRB is thus signaling the need for a careful balance in the regulation of these disruptive new transport market players. The fact is that Grab and Uber have gained wide public acceptance, despite the occasional complaints against deplorable drivers going viral on social media.