Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Despite the call for some Uber and Grab drivers to go offline, the president of a transport group said there is no disruption in their operations on Tuesday.
Philippine Transport Network Organization President Ivan Kloud admitted several Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) or operators and drivers wanted to stage a protest to express dissent against the surge cap imposed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
But the group convinced the TNVS not to halt operations.
Kloud added, the drivers and operators were not consulted prior to the implementation of the surge cap.
“Hindi kinunsulta ang TNVS. Walang due process sa pagkakaintindi naming operators at drivers,” he said.
[Translation: The TNVS were not consulted. As far as we know, there was no due process.]
Transportation Network Companies (TNC) Grab and Uber met with the LTFRB last December to address complaints of exorbitant price surges over the holidays.
Based on LTFRB’s order, they implemented a times-two cap on the surges, which will be in effect until January 15 for Uber and until January 30 for Grab.
Grab calls out to its drivers
Grab Philippines opposed the call for its drivers to stop taking passengers.
It strongly discouraged drivers from going offline from the platform for the main reason of airing grievances and inconveniencing passengers to prove their point.
“We understand the situations of our drivers. These are legitimate concerns, but our avenue for raising these concerns has always been to talk with the LTFRB,” Grab Government Affairs Manager Leo Gonzales said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
He added, based on their monitoring this morning, there has been no dip in driver activity yet.
“If there’s a tigil-pasada happening, it doesn’t seem to have any effect for now,” Gonzales said.
CNN Philippines correspondent Claire Jiao contributed to this report.
