![\"\"](\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2017\/07\/featured-11.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere has been a lot of buzz\u00a0about taxis, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and transportation network companies (TNCs) Uber and Grab. In particular, it\u2019s about how there will be fewer vehicles available from Uber and Grab by July 26 because of unlicensed Uber and Grab vehicles, known as transport network vehicle services (TNVS).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
People have been talking amongst themselves both online and in real life about which is actually better, and TNVS are usually bringing home the bacon. Instead of deciding which one is better, let\u2019s look at what you get when you go either-or:<\/p>\n
Taxis: The Old Staple<\/strong><\/p>\n Taxis have been around for as long as, well, I\u2019ve been around. They were the go-to option for anyone looking to go from one place to another without thinking of where to stop and how many rides were needed.<\/p>\n They might have been the most efficient form of transport in the country at one point\u2026 until there were simply too many of them going around. More taxis meant more drivers, which also meant you had more people competing for a growing group of commuters. Add to that the rise of gas prices, and you see what taxi drivers have to resort to.<\/p>\n They haggle for your fare, try to \u201ccheat\u201d you from what\u2019s shown on the meter by tinkering with it (often referred to as batingting<\/em>), or outright refuse to take a passenger, especially when it\u2019s raining too hard or traffic is too heavy.<\/p>\n What I\u2019ve noticed is that they do it more to keep their jobs as it\u2019s the only thing they usually have to feed their families and send their kids to school. It\u2019s an honest job, but a very cutthroat and difficult one.<\/p>\n Most people don\u2019t know of such plights of the humble taxi driver, and while there are those who don\u2019t resort to such forms of deceit, their image has been scarred by the first few bad eggs to dabble in such dishonest ways of serving the public.<\/p>\n TNVS: New Kids on the Block<\/strong><\/p>\n Transport Network Vehicle Services like Uber and Grab had a bit of a hard time gaining ground in the country, but they\u2019ve since ballooned like crazy.<\/p>\n They\u2019re wickedly efficient: imagine getting a guaranteed ride<\/em> to where you want to go from where you\u2019re at without so much as getting up from your chair. All you need is a few taps and you\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll know the price beforehand, plot exactly where you want to go and have the assurance of knowing exactly who your driver is, how they look, what they\u2019re driving, and how they\u2019ve treated other passengers.<\/p>\n The only catch: price surge. At certain points in the day, prices for these TNVS go up because of congestion, demand, and other conditions beyond the control of the driver. There was even a time when prices surged so high that they went into five digits (remember the Christmas Day fiasco?)!<\/p>\n Similarities<\/strong><\/p>\n Both forms of transport operate pretty much the same way: there\u2019s a set price for the first few kilometers, with each kilometer beyond the first few being charged a certain amount. The difference: Grab and Uber passengers know how much that is up front; those who ride taxis don\u2019t.<\/p>\n Both can also refuse to take a passenger. Don\u2019t believe me? Check your Grab and Uber app the next time you book a ride during rush hour. At times, it doesn\u2019t matter how many drivers are available; you can\u2019t seem to get a ride.<\/p>\n This is because they can refuse to pick you up without you knowing it with a simple touch on their screen.\u00a0Taxis do the same, but the impact is greater. Since it\u2019s done in broad daylight, other people will see you get refused by a taxi driver.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the matter of safety. Both do their checks and balances for the car and the driver, but that hardly matters when there are cases of both TNVS drivers and taxi drivers either robbing you or taking advantage of you during your ride.<\/p>\n Technology seems to be the only difference between the two, as its leagues easier to get a ride from Grab or Uber than it is to flag down a regular taxi.<\/p>\n \u2018Which is better?\u2019 More like \u2018Which do you prefer?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Even with all the similarities, people still lean towards Grab and Uber, and with good reason: there\u2019s an easy way of reporting any erring drivers because of the app. Taxis, on the other hand, aren\u2019t that easy to report.<\/p>\n There are times when Grab and Uber cars aren\u2019t available, or the prices are exponentially high compared to a single taxi ride. Taxis come to the rescue, but people aren\u2019t as willing to ride a taxi as they used to be when Grab and Uber first got here.<\/p>\n Still, both services have their patrons, but TNVS have gotten hold of a chunk of the population because of the convenience they offer despite similar pricing.<\/p>\n Regulation seems to be the biggest problem, and the LTFRB holds all the aces in that regard. Taxis feel like they\u2019re being thrown to the wayside because of TNVS, yet the public seems to want TNVS more because of what they offer.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t say which is better or which you prefer because as far as I\u2019m concerned, both have their pros and cons. Both have their stories of why they are what they are, and we can\u2019t change that.<\/p>\n We at Philippine Primer would like to know what you think. Hit us up in the comments section and give us your view on the matter. Oh, and please no harsh words for either side.<\/p>\n Written by: Andronico Del Rosario Taxis or TNVS?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature-story"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2017\/07\/featured-11.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19197"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19205,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19197\/revisions\/19205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2017\/07\/Tata_Indigo_RE_Taxi_right.jpg\")
IMAGE Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2017\/07\/1-7.jpg\")
IMAGES Uber and Grab Philippines Facebook pages<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2017\/07\/LTFRB_Seal.jpg\")
THEY HAVE THE FINAL SAY. Since the business of public transportation is regulated by the LTFRB, they have the final word.\/IMAGE Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nImage sources:\u00a0Uber Philippines<\/a>,\u00a0Grab Philippines<\/a>, Wikipedia Commons<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"