DOTr suspends ride-hailing driver onboarding as firms exceed limits

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday, April 30, suspended the onboarding of app-based ride-hailing drivers after finding that some platform companies exceeded the allowed number of drivers.

Transportation Secretary Banoy Lopez also prohibited on-the-spot and same-day driver onboarding activities without prior approval from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

Those with valid franchises or provisional authorities, however, are still allowed to continue the onboarding of drivers, DOTr said.

The DOTr is already looking into possible penalties and fines for companies found to have violated the prescribed limits on onboarding Transportation Network Vehicle Service and motorcycle taxi drivers.

Discrepancies between the number of motorcycle taxi drivers on the ground and those reported by ride-hailing firms surfaced during the rollout of the government cash aid last April amid rising fuel costs.

Transportation Network Vehicle Service companies were asked to submit a list of their registered drivers to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

During the distribution, however, many drivers were not included in the lists provided by their companies, which was flagged by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian. – Rappler.com