LTFRB to start nabbing ‘colorum’ vehicles with Uber

The pressure is on for transportation network companies (TNCs) and transportation network vehicles (TNVs) to be accredited by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

By Aug. 20, the board will start apprehending the private vehicles partnering with “unregistered” TNCs, according to LTFRB executive director Robert Cabrera.

As of press time, GrabCar is the only TNC accredited by the LTFRB.

“We are still waiting for other big companies, like Uber, but they have not yet submitted [an application] for accreditation,” Cabrera said during a press conference Monday.

“According to [Uber representatives], they have been sending communications to finalize it, but that definitely, by the second or third week of this month, they will be sending an application for accreditation,” Cabrera said.

“By Aug. 20, we will start apprehending vigorously those TNVs, TNCs which are not yet registered,” Cabrera said. “They will be considered ‘colorum,’” he added.

He said the LTFRB has been planning how to pull off the apprehensions. The last time the board apprehended a TNV under Uber, in a sting operation, the credit cards they used to book the service had been blocked afterward, Cabrera detailed.

Meanwhile, the LTFRB is expecting Uber and GrabCar to have a combined eight to to 10,000 TNVs or partner vehicles, though this isn’t expected to increase cars on the road.

“If you look at their purpose, in the long run, what they want is to limit the use of private vehicles through ride sharing. Instead of two vehicles, two or three passengers could just use one car,” Cabrera said.