THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Friday, January 27, warned the public about using Maxim and InDrive, both "colorum" ride-hailing apps operating as transport network vehicle service (TNVS) without permits.
Both apps are owned by companies operating in Russia and pose as transport network companies (TNCs) serving many Russian cities and municipalities and several countries overseas.
"They are not accredited nor monitored by any government agency for pricing and safety concerns, yet the public continues to patronize them," says LTFRB Chairman Atty. Teofilo E. Guadiz III.
He appealed to the public to stop patronizing these colorum ride-hailing services for their own safety.
“The danger here is that if something bad happens, the public has no company to complain to, which is why I hope the public will stop using their services,” he stated.
For InDrive, fares are supposedly decided through real-time bidding exchanges between passengers and drivers.
Maxim lists a flag-down rate of P10 and fixed rate per kilometer, but passengers may opt to add “tips” or “gifts” to drivers to lure them to accept their booking.
“Since these apps are not licensed as TNCs, the requirements of financial capacity, terms and conditions of service, customer service, driver accreditation and training and other crucial requirements are not complied with," Chairman Guadiz warned.
"They are not authorized to offer transport services on their app,” he reiterated.
Poor service quality, reliability and safety due to lax driver recruitment criteria resulting to low-quality drivers may also be potential issues.
On top of these, the colorum apps may not be paying the correct taxes to the government.
Tech giants Apple and Google should ban colorum apps Maxim and InDrive from their respective app stores in the country, he stressed.
Hence, the LTFRB will have discussions with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Likewise, Chairman Guadiz is instructing the LTFRB’s Regional Franchising and Regulatory Offices in the country to issue public advisories in their respective jurisdictions against Maxim and InDrive apps.
Finally, he is sitting down with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to strengthen the enforcement of anti-colorum activities.