Arcade City says LTFRB’s Lizada does not understand app

Ride-sharing start-up Arcade City slammed on Monday Board Member Aileen Lizada of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), claiming she “does not understand” the ride-sharing app.

“Ms. Lizada does not understand Arcade City ... To a bureaucrat with a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” Arcade City CEO Christopher David said in an email message to GMA News Online.

Lizada has claimed that Arcade City was worse than other ride-hailing applications.

“Itong Arcade City ay mas malala pa sa mga ibang TNC (transport network company) kasi po sinasabi nila hindi sila TNC, hindi sila TNVS (transport network vehicle service), sila daw po ay isang marketing web na company,” Lizada said.

All TNCs are regulated by the LTFRB.

Arcade City said it is not a TNC, but a platform for riders and drivers to negotiate their own rates.

“Riders can choose their driver. Drivers can set their own rates. Driver networks called ‘guilds’ set the policies for their local area. We won’t be hiring some corporate people to run an office in the Philippines, we invite the drivers themselves to run the networks,” David said last week.

The LTFRB has since issued a cease and desist order to keep Arcade City from operating in the country. It said it will launch a crackdown if the launch pushes through.

“We are focusing now on launching the app,” David said.

“It will be live for Android in about 12 hours from now, and iOS on Wednesday,” he said. —VDS, GMA News