U.S. Transportation Company Cites Philippines as Model for Making Public-Private Partnerships Work

An American transportation network company considers the Philippines as “the best example” of a country that has embraced a business model and works with it to establish a framework and guidelines that allow the company to operate effectively and safely.

In an interview with reporters on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation Ministerial Meeting here this week, Uber Technologies Business Asia President Eric Alexander said the Philippine experience is a very interesting one for the company since the government is very much open to dialogue on how public-private partnership works.

Uber is a San Francisco-based international transportation network company that develops, markets and operates the Uber mobile app. The app allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request, which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.

Currently, the service is available in an estimated 58 countries and 300 cities worldwide, including the Philippines. By mid-2015, Uber was estimated to be worth US$ 50 billion.

According to Alexander, Uber will soon be meeting with ministers of Hongkong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to discuss possible partnerships in transporting people and goods to their destinations.

Earlier, Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said the government is crafting a legal framework that Uber can work on as a private transit system to ease the traffic situation in the Philippines.

He said the legal framework that is being drafted would help Uber justify its formation in the country.

“The same legal framework is not even present in other countries like the USA. And they are looking at us (the Philippines) for that experience,” Abaya explained. (PNA) LGI/PND/APEC COMMUNICATIONS GROUP/RSM