LTFRB to hear proposed fare hike for TNVS on April 3

(PNA Photo)

MANILA — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is set to hold a hearing on the fare hike petition filed by transportation network companies (TNCs) on April 3, 2018.

The Board decided to hold a consolidated hearing on the proposed fare increases by Uber and Grab, LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III said in a radio interview Friday morning.

“We aim to come up with a general fare structure for this kind of denomination,” Delgra said. “One perspective we are looking at is the improvement of TNVS services.”

Grab had earlier filed its petition, asking that their fares be increased, in addition to the base rate of PHP40, from a rate of PHP10-PHP14 per kilometer to PHP11-PHP15 per kilometer and its time charge increasing to PHP2.10 from the current PHP2 per minute rate.

On the other hand, Uber is seeking for an increase of its fare from PHP5 per kilometer to PHP12 per kilometer.

Both ridesharing firms said that fare hikes are necessary in order to mitigate the impact of the recent series of oil price hikes and higher excise taxes under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

Meanwhile, the LTFRB said it is eyeing to increase the number of applications for TNVS units following the resumption of their acceptance last Monday.

The Board is eyeing to process 400-500 applications daily from its current 300 with 150 slots each for Grab and Uber.

“Yung pag-aaply ng TNVS operators ikinakasa namin with the help of Uber and Grab araw-araw para hindi magdagsaan (We are coordinating with Uber and Grab for the orderly processing of applications of TNVS operators),” Delgra said.

Last February, the LTFRB has issued a memorandum setting the common supply base for TNVS units at 66,750.

Under LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. ‎‎2018-005, the common supply base is as follows: Metro Manila — 65,000 TNVS units; Metro Cebu — 1,500 TNVS units; Pampanga — 250 TNVS units.

The number of the common supply base was set by the Board considering various factors such as unserved demand, number coding scheme, and churning rate or the number of inactive drivers for the past few months. It will be reviewed every three months.

There are 59,020 accredited TNVS units for both Uber and Grab whose Certificates of Public Convenience were not processed by the LTFRB due to the moratorium on applications last July 2017.