I have an additional car in my household and I am considering signing it up with Uber.

I
am curious if anyone here has an opinion of the service. I found that during regular off-
peak hours, the price can actually be very similar to a taxi, and they have now isolated
the slightly lower-end vehicles as being UberX while the premium ones stay as Uber
Black.
Do you think its worth it to signup? Do you think this service will last?
I used it more than a few times and have asked the drivers many questions. I have also
met with a representative from Uber, but there were a lot of financial details he wasn’t
allowed to reveal.
What I gathered:
 With Uber Black, Uber has a “top-off” program that assures the minimum fare is actually
topped off to 150.
 It is common for the average Uber driver to have at least 10 fares a shift.
 It is up to the operator / driver to determine shift schedule.
 Pay to the operator is guaranteed by Uber, even if the passenger’s credit card is
declined.
 Uber takes 20% commission, and remits money each week.
 Drivers told me that they get paid more with Uber, and it is less stressful than operating
a taxi.
 Drivers told me that they are not on a boundary system.
 At least with Uber Black, peak hour rates can be 1.5x or 2x the normal rate.
What do you think? How does this work out in practice?

You probably know more than I do - so I have no idea if any of this will help, this is all
just second hand info from drivers and my own experience. I've been riding since they
launched. And in the past 2 months, I have ridden nothing but Uber cars for my
commute to work. But again, I have no actual hard info from operators.
 When they first started out, they paid a lump sum per mo/per car. Not sure if they still do
this though. But I guess they still do something like this. But, ideally, the system is
designed such that 20% goes to Uber, the rest goes to the operator. I have heard some
drivers say that Uber also pays for gas.
 Driver pay is up to the operator. Some drivers get paid a fixed amount per trip (e.g.
50PhP regardless of the actual amount charged to customer). Some drivers get paid
 per day. Some drivers get paid an incremental increase for each rider after the first 10
rides etc..
 Most operators 'require' drivers to drive at least 10 drives per shift. This is because,
well, some drivers are just lazy. One driver told me his fellow drivers used to drive down
south to 'hide' from ride requests, haha. With the exception of weekends, I think 10 rides
is actually pretty easy to do. Just last week, I rode to a meeting, just within Makati. 30
minutes later I was done and I requested a ride again, and I got the same driver. During
those 30 minutes, he told me had already had 2 other rides just within Makati also. This
was during morning rush hour.
 Shift sked and most of the 'hassles' of day-to-day operations are up to the operator.
Although, assuming they pay you a lump sum, I guess you will be required to be 'online'
for a fixed number of hours. Drivers are also required to maintain a 4.0 or higher rating.
Easy enough to do, but some drivers are just unable to do it. You need a driver who is
quiet, but who also has customer service skills - and of course, someone who isn't going
to drive around in circles.
 Most drivers I've talked to do prefer driving with Uber vs regular cabs. There is no fear
of the boundary system - e.g. there is no potential of actually losing money. And some
drivers do make much much more, esp. if they get paid per ride. Plus, to a certain
extent, they can manage their own hours - though this is dependent on the operator.
Some operators require their drivers to accept all ride requests, some allow their drivers
to ignore ride requests.
 Surge pricing does go to 2X regularly. If it's a Friday night, it's guaranteed. If it rains, it is
also guaranteed. I guess the key is to make sure your driver is on the road during these
times. Even during morning rush hour, surge does flicker up and down.
 Most operators seem to like it. One guy told me his boss started with just 1 car, and had
4 brand new cars on the road within a a span of a month or so. So I guess they're
making money.
 Will users keep using it? I think so. People are willing to pay for convenience.
Personally for me, if Uber continues to grow and is able to cover most of Metro Manila, I
will sell my car and will pretty much have no need for a car. I actually spend more for
Uber vs paying monthly amort. for my own car, but it also saves me a hell of a lot of
time and I am much less stressed from not driving and for urban dwellers, it also
translates potential savings in other areas - e.g. we are planning on moving, and were
surprised to learn that condo parking now sells for up to PhP1M. Yikes. Even my wife
who was initially hesitant about paying a premium for the service now uses Uber 99% of
the time. In most cases, Uber will cost more than owning your own car, but will cost less
 than having your own personal driver. Plus, with Uber, I am pretty much covered almost
24/7, and I don't waste time looking for parking.
 Will it last? Entirely depends on the LTFRB. Personally, I think it will. I believe Uber has
already met with the LTFRB and everything has been settled. There are already
restrictions in place - e.g. Uber cars can't wait within NAIA, they have to maintain a
certain distance from NAIA etc.. The law re: Uber is a gray area. As previously
mentioned by others, the law is obsolete and is not in keeping with the times. But as
also previously commented here, some people do prefer living in the dark ages and
continue to insist that Uber is illegal. The good news is, Uber has a large warchest. As
long as they believe the Manila market is worth fighting for, they will spend what is
necessary to win. And they will win.
 As long as you're willing to manage drivers, and are willing to find good drivers, I don't
see why this wouldn't be a bad thing to do. From what I understand, you already own
the car, so might as well give it a try. If it doesn't work out, you can just end it?
 But again, these are all second hand info, and some guesses on my part. Of course,
coming from a passenger perspective, the more operators and more cars, the better for
us, haha! But for me, I really wish Uber would succeed in Manila. I prefer using Uber vs
using my own car, and I also much prefer Uber vs any of the other "legal" means of
transportation around Metro Manila. If I were to get in an accident, I'd rather have it in
an Uber vs a legally franchised PUV.

Home › News › The 8 Things We Should All Know About the Uber-LTFRB Issue
Oct 25, 2014 | 3,057 views
By Jozza Alegre Palaganas
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A partner car for Uber Philippines was recently caught in a sting operation by the Land
Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). The car, which was an SUV, was
fined Php200,000.00 and impounded for up to three months.
This issue has inflamed many Uber users on social media in the past few days, especially after
the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has showed support for the ride-sharing
service. But what really happened? More importantly, what should we expect to happen next?

The LTFRB is the arm of the Department of Transportation and Communications that is
responsible for “promulgating, administering, enforcing, and monitoring compliance of policies,
laws, and regulations of public land transportation services.”
This government agency’s main function is “to prescribe and regulate routes of service,
economically viable capacities and zones or areas of operation of public land transportation
services provided by motorized vehicles in accordance with the public land transportation
development plans and programs approved by the Department of Transportation and
Communications.”
LTFRB, being a regulatory body, has the power to carry out investigations, issue injunctions and
serve necessary punishments for all cases concerning land transportation franchising, eg. buses,
jeepneys, taxis and tricycles.
(These are all from Wikipedia because the LTFRB’s website was, at the time of writing, not
loading.)

Uber is a mobile app that allows commuters to book a ride with people who are willing to share
their car with strangers.
You register with Uber using your credit card because the system works so that you do not need
cash to get where you need to go, and you don’t even need to tip. The transactions are made
directly between Uber and the passengers, thus making you feel safer and farther away from
overcharging taxi drivers.
Uber also uses a metered fare-type pricing, except that it starts with a base rate that is multiplied
depending on how high the demand is at a given time. High-demand periods are called “surges.”
People are willing to pay the premium fare on Uber because you don’t only feel safer, but you’ll
also be in a private vehicle. And if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll even get the Hummer, or the Mini
Cooper.
As for those who want to make extra money from sharing their car and time with passengers, all
they need to do is sign up and start driving (as long as you pass the background check). You
make extra money, and you have complete control over your schedule.

Technically speaking, Uber is but an app, a technological innovation that allows us lowly Manila
commuters the comfort and convenience of a private car from point A to point B.
Logically speaking, booking an Uber ride has the same public transportation requirements: a
vehicle, a destination, and the money you pay for fare. You book a ride through Uber, you use a
private vehicle for a public purpose.
Anything that involves operating land transport for the public is within the LTFRB’s jurisdiction.

Again, anything that involves operating land transport for the public is within the LTFRB’s
jurisdiction. So yes, the LTFRB has the power to regulate Uber. If you look at it this way,
impounding and fining the Fortuner caught in the sting operation is well within their jurisdiction.
According to the LTFRB, they are pushing for regulation for the sole reason of passenger safety.
Whatever happens to passengers in an Uber vehicle, because it’s not regulated, will not be
covered by insurance.

Aside from the public safety argument, the LTFRB has yet to provide scenarios other than
banning Uber because of it’s colorum status.
But regulation often has a two-pronged goal–public safety and fair market prices.
As of this writing, Uber and the LTFRB have yet to sit down and discuss regulating Uber’s
operations in the Philippines.

Obviously, franchising and regulation spells F-E-E-S to us Filipinos. But strictly speaking,
regulation should benefit the public in terms of safety, and fair, regulated fares.
Now if only we had public land transport services to use as examples to successfully illustrate
this point.

This isn’t actually the first time Uber’s encountering this problem. This issue has happened to
key cities where Uber is available.
Uber is banned in all of Germany (but UberTaxi, or Uber’s use of regular licensed taxis is
allowed), temporarily in Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City, and formerly
in Brussels and Virginia(where the ban was lifted in July).
As of this writing, the service is regulated in Colorado and California, and is running without
regulation in over 200 cities in the world.

Public transport is one of the most common, most insufferable issues in Metro Manila. You have
1) far too many vehicles on one road that cause a gridlock the moment two drops of rain reach
the ground, 2) loosely regulated bus stops that make main street sidewalks, between 5 to 9pm,
look like Quiapo during the Nazareno procession, 3) colorum buses whose drivers seem to feel
like they’re playing Takeshi’s Castle along EDSA, and 4) abusive taxi drivers who don’t seem to
be aware that traffic is bad everywhere.
It’s the LTFRB’s job to keep all these things in order and the all too earnest clawing of Uber–a
service that’s generally considered to be helpful–merely places a glaring spotlight on their failure
to deliver much-needed solutions to the transport-related conundrums of the EDSA-stuck masses