I have been in constant communication with LTFRB officials the whole weekend (just when my body was telling me to lie down because of the flu) because of two news from supposedly new Transport Network Companies (TNC’s) starting operations today.
The first was U-HOP who unabashedly announced that “due to insistent public demand” they are resuming their operations at 6:00am today, April 16, 2018, as a TNC to service the vacuum left by Uber.
U-HOP even send us a photo of a supposedly LTFRB Accreditation allowing them to operate. The problem with that it was issued last March 11, 2016 and had an expiration date of two-years after issuance. That was last month.
LTFRB Board Member Atty. Aileen Lizada clarified that the application of U-HOP is still at the hearing stage and they have not renewed the franchise.
The worst news about transport, however, is the one by Arcade City.
The company posted on social media and their company blog that they have developed an application similar to those of Uber and Grab and will service the needs of commuters beginning today also. The thing is, Arcade City does not have any local franchise and does not even have an office in the country.
After the Facebook debacle on personal data and the Uber issue before that, can you imagine what can happen to our data if Arcade City got a hold of it in their servers?
The thing about Arcade City that sounds insidious is that they have been claiming that they are not a TNC but only an application that would-be-TNC’s can use but do not have the capital to develop their own application.
They also claim that their application allows drivers and commuters to dictate their prices without the burdensome involvement of an organization that sets prices for services rendered. Arcade City claims they are not making money out of their enterprise which is quite impossible for a business enterprise.
The CEO of Arcade City is a certain Christopher David or Christopher David Pille. He has a number of scam charges and conviction and police reports against him and he has earlier allegedly stepped down as CEO of Arcade City until now when the need for a substitute for Uber became evident in the Philippines.
Now, where am I going with this?
LTFRB Board Member Atty. Aileen Lizada has warned drivers that their vehicles will be impounded if and when they are found to be operating under Arcade City.
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