AN official of GrabCar in Cebu said they will await the new Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 Director this Nov. 9 before they will answer the incumbent official's recent pronouncement to avoid GrabCar's services and competitor Uber.
Raymund Dejan, Grab Cebu sales and operations manager, in a phone interview yesterday said he will have to wait for Ritchie Osmeña, the incoming LTFRB 7 chief, to assume office.
"I have talked to him (Osmeña) once, and he told me to wait. He said we will talk about the PA (provisional authority) that we are asking," Dejan said, refusing to further issue a statement.
Transport network vehicle services Uber and GrabCar can only carry passengers if they have a franchise or provisional authority issued by the LTFRB.
Suspension
In the middle of this year, LTFRB suspended the issuance of a provisional authority for Uber and Grab pending review of their regulation and other technical standards.
The review was formalized via a memorandum from the LTFRB dated July 21, 2016.
In a separate statement, an Uber official, who refused to be named, said the company “will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to realize the full economic and social benefit of ridesharing in the Philippines.”
As of July 15 this year, the Department of Trasportation (DOTr) as quoted in reports said the review would affect about 29,000 pending applications, where 23,000 applications of these are for Uber, 5,727 for Grab applications while 131 for UHop.