UBER’S P500 million lesson in humility

One by one, mousy, inconsequential and oft-ridiculed government agencies are stepping up and are finally flexing hitherto unused regulatory muscle. 

Last week, we mentioned the gains of the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) particularly its campaign against fake food products and counterfeit medicines.

This time, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) went head to head with UBER, an app-based transportation network and taxi company headquartered in San Francisco, California.

UBER operates in over 600 cities globally including Manila.

UBER was slapped by the LTFRB with a month long suspension, supposed to end on Sept. 15, for defying the LTFRB’s order not to accept and accredit new drivers into its platform.

However, UBER blinked and is now back on the road following the lifting of its suspension by LTFRB.

The price? A swoon-worthy half a billion pesos! Uber bit the bullet and paid the hefty P190 million fine plus P299.24 million in assistance to its drivers and opportunity cost during the 15 days it was suspended.

Then, and only then, did LTFRB give the go signal for the 36,000 drivers nationwide of the transportation network company (TNC) to go back on the road.

Naturally, tens of thousands of UBER and TNC patrons rejoiced at Uber’s return.

However, over and above the restoration of transportation service to the riding public, we cite the LTFRB for generating for the government P190 million which can finance urgently needed facilities in the transport sector

Despite the obvious public relations campaign by vested interests against the agency and its Chairman, Martin Delgra, the LTFRB stood firm in its decision to impose a hefty fine agaInst the transportation giant.

With the entire nation watching, closely monitored by social media savvy commuters who have painfully felt the absence of the TNC in the 15 days it stopped operations, LTFRB openly but steadfastly stood its ground.

Since the whole process was transparent, the payment was made straight to the government and not to the pockets of LTFRB officials.

We hope, since close to P500 million was lost by UBER, this will set a precedent for others not to disregard government rules and regulations.

After being a butt of joke and not taken seriously for years because of the miniscule fines it imposes to public utility vehicles, the multi-million fine it slapped on UBER should make these players in the transportation industry take LTFRB more seriously.

As they say, the law is harsh but it is the law. Dura lex sed lex. No one is above it.

A word of warning though to LTFRB. Like Lady Justice, it must treat everyone equally. UBER is not the only player in the TNC universe. They should also look closely at Grab or U Hop if they are indeed complying with LTFRB regulations.

Don’t stop there. Watch out for colorum buses, jeepneys, taxis, UV express. Whatever LTFRB meted out to Uber must also be done to erring PUVs and TNCs in order for them to learn. That way, LTFRB will not be accused of being partial to or against anyone.

If found to be violating the law, the LTFRB should throw the book at anyone. The bottom line, they should protect the riding public.

Admittedly, there was pain and inconvenience for the riding public during the 15 days Uber was out of commission. However, the LTFRB more importantly, was able to send a very strong signal that it means business.

It also follows that when transport operators comply with government rules, it is the riding public who will benefit.

Lastly, we hope that UBER or any TNC for that matter has learned a thing or two from this very expensive lesson.

Yes, we understand that we cannot stop innovation because that is the key to development. In this case, the ride sharing technology.

Certainly, we understand that this technology will help our commuting public who has long suffered because of the lack of mass transit system in the country.

But one, in this particular case, UBER, cannot just come here in our country and say “we have the technology that will help you so” and just disregard our laws as if they are untouchable.

If we will allow UBER or any technology developer in the future to simply disregard our own laws, every Tom, Dick and Harry will follow and long after they are all gone, what will happen to us?

At the end of the day, we hope this will teach UBER a little lesson in humility. A bit pricey though at P500 million!.