Wunder vehicles illegal; will face apprehension

CEBU, Philippines - Vehicle owners who are picking up passengers along their routes through the new ride-sharing app Wunder will face apprehension by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

“Kung mangolekta og plete kanang mga sakyanan sa Wunder, they cease to become private vehicles because they now take on the nature of being for-hire vehicles which need franchises,” said LTFRB-7 Regional Director Ahmed Cuizon.

Cuizon said that if Wunder drivers/owners are doing it as a pure public service or charitable endeavor, meaning, no fare is charged on the passengers and they do not generate income from their operations, then they may not need government accreditation or franchises.

 “Otherwise, they need to comply with accreditation and franchise requirements,” Cuizon said.

Former LTFRB board member Ariel Inton, who is also the founder of Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection, in an exclusive interview, said that Wunder’s operation is considered illegal, or colorum, as it operates without a franchise and it is not registered with LTFRB as a Transport Network Company (TNC).

Inton said that LTFRB, however, has no jurisdiction over Wunder since it is not a registered TNCs like Grab or Uber, but still the agency has the authority to apprehend these units for being colorums.

Wunder, a European carpooling app, is not a TNC but an online carpooling company, wherein drivers share empty seats to passengers, who charged cheaper fares as compared to other competitors.

“The moment a private car charges a fare to his or her passengers, that car ceased to be a private one. Dapat may prangkisa na yan from LTFRB,” Inton said.

He added that foreign companies doing such kind of business in the Philippines should give respect to the country’s transportation industry’s regulatory group, which is the LTFRB.

To date, even Grab Car or Uber vehicles, which have licenses to operate as TNCs, are even apprehended for lack of franchise to operate in view of the suspension to process its application since September last year.

Currently, there are more than 35,000 pending applications of Uber and Grab cars nationwide, Inton said. (FREEMAN)