MANILA - Commuters flooded social media with irate comments on Tuesday, after ride-sharing service Uber started serving out a 1-month suspension.
As of 11 a.m., "Uber" was the top trending topic on Twitter with nearly 100,000 posts, followed by "LTFRB" with nearly 10,000.
The LTFRB or Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board cracked the whip on Uber, accusing it of defying an order against registering new cars. Uber said it would appeal the suspension.
Some netizens cursed at the prospect of a more stressful commute
without Uber, which is popular in the capital city of 12 million people
that deals with crippling traffic jams.
Others slammed the LTFRB for allegedly singling out Uber, in favor of
taxis, buses, and UV Express units that operate without legitimate
franchises.
There were also those who sided with the regulator and said that popularity should not be an excuse to violate laws.
Uber drivers affected by the suspension also took to social media to express their dismay.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Monday suspended the accreditation and operations of Uber System Inc. (Uber) for one month.
In its advisory, the LTFRB said the board meted out the penalty of one-month suspension "on the accreditation of Uber System, Inc. (Uber) and was ordered to cease and desist its operations of their online booking application during the period of suspension."
LTFRB also recommended that Uber extend financial assistance to affected peer-operators during the one-month suspension "as an expression of good faith", noting that the operators "would not have suffered the current predicament were it not for the predatory actions of respondent user."
The suspension takes effect immediately.
Copies of the suspension were furnished to enforcers of the LTFRB, Land Transportation Office, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group.
In a statement, Uber Philippines said they have received the order and is currently studying it.
"Uber received an order around 6pm tonight (August 14) to completely stop operations. We are studying the order at the moment. We will update our riders and drivers as soon as we can," the company said.
Uber and rival Grab are in dispute with the LTFRB over the scope of regulation on ride-sharing services, sparking separate investigations by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The LTFRB earlier fined Uber and Grab P5 million each, accusing the companies of operating some 50,000 vehicles without proper permits.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
