Getting tired of those ridiculous surge pricing for ride sharing apps like Uber and Grab? Apparently Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Winston “Winnie” Castelo is too. The congressman has officially filed House Bill No. 4669 or the No Price Surge Act, which in essence, bans the surge pricing model that transport network companies (TNVCs) use like Uber and Grab use.
This comes immediately after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) issued a warning over Uber and Grab’s surge pricing after it received numerous complaints about the alarmingly high surge prices that commuters had to pay during the holiday season.
“The said bill, if approved, will permanently protect the helpless the commuters from undue and exorbitant price fixing by [Uber and Grab],” Castelo said.
According to the lawmaker, the practice of surge pricing makes Uber and Grab no different than erring taxi cabs that ply the roads of the metro every day.
“While we thought that these providers serve as a better mode of public transportation for our people, they appear to be just the same with or worse than erring taxi cabs that charge passengers more than what the meter says,” Castelo added.
“So how does the transport network vehicle service industry now become a friendly alternative each time this unfortunate situation happens to their poor patrons?” he added.
