EDITORIAL - The corruption of the ride-sharing concept

It is unfortunate that the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, when pressed by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to take a stand on the Transport Network Vehicle Services debate, chose to side with the latter in its current form. In its current form, many vehicles that have latched on to the Transport Network Vehicle Services not only have violated legal requirements on franchises, they have added more to the problem of traffic than originally intended.

At its inception, Transport Network Vehicle Services were best understood and appreciated as ride-sharing services. They basically meant that people who drive their own vehicles can pick up passengers along the way to his destination. The logic was that this would help lessen the traffic load because people going in the same direction can share a ride instead of all of them going in their own private cars.

Also, because the drivers of transport network service vehicles would normally be the owners of the vehicles themselves, the presumption is that they would be safer and more comfortable to ride with than taxis. It was supposed to be a win-win situation, with passengers getting their real money's worth, and the driver-owners earning a little extra income on the side without really having to go out of their way for it.

That, in a nutshell, was the original concept of the Transport Network Vehicle Services -a ride-sharing service. But the trust the Filipino to take a good thing to excess. And so what started as a ride-sharing scheme involving private car drivers going a certain way taking on passengers headed in the same direction, many enterprising people took the opportunity to make the scheme a real transport business.

And so, instead of taking away a few cars off the overburdened road networks through the magic of ride-sharing, dozens and then hundreds, even thousands, were added as people went on car-buying sprees, intending to throw their new vehicles into the incipient transport network vehicle services business. What has happened is not unlike what happened to the hot pan de sal, roasted peanuts, and lechon manok businesses. From one bright idea, it all ended in a glut.

And since the concept has been turned completely around and made into a business, the hand of the government was forced so that it is now demanding franchises to be had. The debate has never been about the relative comfort and safety that the Transport Network Vehicle Services offer. There has never been any question about that. The issue now is legality and fairness. Government cannot demand from one and turn the other cheek on the other. For CCCI not to see that is indeed sad.