House bill seeks ban on ‘predatory’ Uber, Grab price surges

A House bill has been filed seeking to prevent app-based transport services like Uber and Grab from imposing "predatory" and "exorbitant" price surges amid the high demand for services and heavy traffic over the holiday season.

House Bill No. 4669 or the No Price Surge Act, filed by Quezon City Rep. Winston "Winnie" Castelo, aims to regulate the transport network service providers (TNS) industry in the country.

The bill, if approved, will permanently protect commuters from "undue and exorbitant price fixing by the TNS."

Castelo, chair of the House committee on Metro Manila Development, said unreasonable price surging makes Uber and Grab no different from regular taxis that resort to "contracting" instead of using the meter.

“While we thought that these TNS providers serve as a better mode of public transportation for our people, they appear to be  just the same with or worse than erring taxi cabs that charge passengers more than what the meter says,” Castelo said.

Castelo said he filed the bill after receiving mounting complaints against Uber and Grab over price surges, which the TNS providers implement during rush hours, especially this Christmas season.

Under the price surge system, passengers of Uber and Grab can be charged as high as thrice the price of the usual rate when traffic condition is bad and demand for their service is high.

“So how does the TNS industry now become a friendly alternative each time this unfortunate situation happens to their poor patrons?” Castelo asked.

Aside from banning price surges, Winston said, the measure also seeks a cap on the number of vehicles under the network.

“There should be a limit to the number of TNS vehicles to avoid road congestion, otherwise our efforts to ease traffic in Metro Manila would be rendered useless," the lawmaker added.

Since the taxi industry has no monopoly over abusive and discourteous drivers as proven by similar complaints against Uber and Grab, Castelo also wanted TNS drivers to undergo proper training.

“This will help make sure that they truly make the difference. A polite and smart driver is as important as arriving safely [at] one’s destination,” the lawmaker said.

Although vehicles accredited by Uber and Grab are readily identified online, Castelo also insisted on having the units marked to allow passengers to easily identify them in case of complaints and untoward incidents.

“There’s nothing wrong in giving the riding public more aid to identify their service providers especially if it can hasten solve traffic-related cases,” the lawmaker said. — Mark Merueñas/BM, GMA News