Erring taxi and transport network vehicle service (TNVS) drivers who cancel booked trips for reasons such as heavy traffic or long distances will face penalties, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Saturday. 

The agency has directed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to enforce sanctions against drivers and companies that violate booking rules.

Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said drivers should be responsible and held accountable.

“What I always say is that when you enter this kind of work, this is imbued with public interest. That means, we require not just a higher level in terms of care, the so-called extraordinary diligence. But we also require a higher level of obligation and responsibility,” Lopez said.

He added that both taxis and transport network companies (TNCs) will be sanctioned for cancelling confirmed bookings.

“Now we will issue a Memorandum Circular, the LTFRB, and we will include the TNVS. Those who cancel, we will prohibit the cancellation of booked trips,” Lopez said.

Traffic should not be an excuse, he stressed.

“Because most of the drivers or TNC operators say their reason is traffic. If that’s the case, they shouldn’t go out at all. Traffic would even be reduced. That’s the purpose of a public utility vehicle. It’s difficult because they accept a booking and then just cancel it. The passengers suffer,” he pointed out.

Lopez also ordered LTFRB Chairman Vigor Mendoza II to study the legal basis of surge pricing, including the possibility of cancelling or deferring it during the holiday season. Public consultations with TNVS firms will be held on 10 December.

“We need to start this December. But I just have to strike a balance right now of either cancelling it totally or deferring it maybe next year it can be implemented without it. 

We can always cancel it [surge pricing], but again the ones who will suffer are our passengers, so it needs to be studied well and it’s still different when we engage in dialogue with TNVS,” he said.

TNVS operators will be required to submit a list of drivers who frequently cancel bookings, while LTFRB will set up a hotline for the public to report erring drivers.