//

The court order was issued in favor of a group of taxi drivers who say Uber and GrabCar operators should apply for franchises first

A Quezon City court has issued a 20-day temporary restraining order on the operations of Transportation Network Vehicle Services — the classification for app-based transport services like Uber and GrabTaxi.

According to a report by GMA News Online, the restraining order stops Philippine regulators from implementing a new policy “which introduced additional standard classifications for public transport conveyances, including TNVS.”

Quezon City is a component city of the National Capital Region, which is also known as Metro Manila.

Also Read: Want to beat traffic and zip around in Manila? Just grab a helicopter!

The restraining order was issued in favor of Stop and Go Coalition, a group of taxi and van drivers who say Uber and GrabTaxi drivers should apply for proper franchises like regular taxi operators do. While GrabTaxi operators have franchises, GrabCar drivers are not required to get them.

The group said the incomes of the franchised taxi operators have been halved since the government allowed TNVSs on Metro Manila’s streets.

e27 has reached out to Uber and GrabTaxi for comment.

The Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications introduced the TNVS category earlier this year, a move that Uber hailed as the first in the world.

TNVSs need to register with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board before they can operate in Metro Manila.

Also Read: GrabTaxi, Hailo get green light to continue operating in Singapore

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has issued regulations on third-party taxi booking services as well, with GrabTaxi among the operators issued a certificate of registration, e27 reported this week. UberTaxi and three others are still waiting for their applications to get processed.

In Indonesia, where regulatory issues have also hounded ride-sharing services, Uber announced in November that it has applied for registration as a foreign investment firm there.

The post Philippine court hits brakes on Uber, GrabCar operations appeared first on e27.

from e27 http://ift.tt/1SBuuCi