Uber plans to operate in Pampanga

MANILA, Philippines — Ride-sharing app Uber is planning to offer its services in Pampanga within the first half of the year.

“We will be launching in Pampanga soon,”Yves Gonzalez, head of public policy at Uber, said during the celebration of the ride-share app’s fourth anniversary in the Philippines.

Cat Avelino, head of communications at Uber, said the services in Pampanga are expected to be available within the first semester.

Uber’s plan to begin ride-sharing services in Pampanga comes as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) decided to increase the cap for the number of units allotted for ride-sharing companies.

Under Memorandum Circular 2018-005, the LTFRB increased the common supply base for transport network vehicle services (TNVS) to 65,000 units from 45,000 units in Metro Manila.

The LTFRB also hiked the allocation in Pampanga to 250 units from 200 units, as well as in Cebu to 1,500 units from 500 units.

At present, Uber has operations in Metro Manila and Cebu.

It offers services such as uberX (affordable Uber), uberBlack (premium Uber), uberPOOL (carpool service) and uberXL.

Uber is offering its services to provide the public another transport option and help solve traffic congestion, which is becoming a serious problem in Metro Manila.

According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency, traffic in Metro Manila has worsened as it now account for estimated losses of P3.5 billion a day, from an earlier estimate of P2.4 billion a day.