Court Suspends Granting Permits to Uber, GrabCar

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court on Friday issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to stop granting permits to app-based ride hailing services Uber and GrabCar and similar transport services operating under the Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS).

The TRO includes the stopping of accepting, processing and approving of applications of private motor vehicles as public utility vehicles accredited and belonging to TNVS. QCRTC Judge Santiago Arenas clarified that the TRO does not apply to current operations of Uber and GrabCar, as it only disallows government offices from accepting and approving TNVS applications.

The court order temporarily cancels DOTC Department order 2012-015 and LTFRB’s memorandum circular 2015-015 to 018, which cover the accreditation of transportation network companies and issuance of franchises to TNVS.

The petition to stop the TNVS operations was due to the sudden increase in the number of TNVS vehicles plying through the streets of Metro Manila which is said to have affected the income of public utility vehicles.

The court cited that the petitioner, Angat Tsuper Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator ng Pilipinas Genuine Organization Transport Coalition, represented by Pascual Magno has presented a right to be protected as recipients of franchises, adding that the rights of public utility vehicles have been affected by the operations of Uber and GrabCar.

The LTFRB and DOTC will meet with the Office of the Solicitor General to discuss the best legal recourse to allow the continuity of TNVS services especially during the peak season this Christmas, the LTFRB said.