Uber sees potential for ‘sharing economy’ in PHL

"We live in a time where people are very busy, where they are used to getting information [in an instant]," Uber advisor David Plouffe told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit on Monday.

 

"Now people are getting a ride at the press of a button, staying at a personal home at the press of a button. I assume this would be an area that will continue to expand,” he added. 

 

The business model, also known as sharing economy and collaborative consumption, allows individuals to rent personal assets such as cars and houses. 

 

Among the popular companies offering platforms for sharing economy services include Uber, which started operating in the Philippines in 2013.

 

“Transportation alone is such a big opportunity especially here in Manila... Hindi pa tapos ang opportunity at malayo pa,” said Laurence Cua, general manager of Uber Philippines. 

 

Expanding

Uber Philippines currently offers ride-sharing services in the National Capital Region only. But the company is looking at expanding to other cities.

"The general idea is wherever we find people opening the application and looking for Uber, and we monitor what people say across the Philippines, that is where we start looking,” Cua said.

Aside from major cities like Cebu and Davao, the Uber executive said the company is considering smaller cities as well.

"It is about the individual user, like if there are people who want to drive and who want to ride... It is really the thought of when it is going to happen and which one first,” he said.

 

While it focuses on offering ride-sharing services in the Philippines for now, Uber expects the sharing economy to have a bigger potential in such a market. 

 

Earlier in October, the company partnered with an online food ordering platform to offer delivery services for restaurants in Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

"From an economic standpoint, I cannot be more excited about this because if you look at people driving under our platform… some are doing this as their main source of income then others are just using it for few hours in a week,” he added.

"There’s a lot of things that are harder than it should be… Most major cities have food delivery [that takes] 45 to 50 minutes, but what kind of market will there be for five minutes? It turns out to be a big market,” Plouffe said. – VS, GMA News