If you’re on one of the daily commuters and always find yourself lining up to public transportations morning after morning, then you might want to check this out. U-HOP is the Philippines’ first app-based shuttle service and offers convenience and efficiency to its users.
The service works by first signing up and having a card that you could load just like you would a cellphone. Once that’s done, you would choose your preferred method of payment:
Daily round trips (per week/month)
Unlimited rides (per week/month)
This is where the card comes into play as you’d use its credits to pay via the software. The app also lets you choose your preferred pick up spot, time, and destination which it will all consider and run through its system to group passengers and allocate them on the same vehicle.
Coming from the shuttles’ end, they will notify you three times of its distance to your pickup spot. “If you’re late, the shuttle will not wait for you. But U-HOP allows you to rebook the next ride. You are entitled to one free rebooking for a week. If you have bought the monthly service, you are entitled to five rebooking for that month,” this is according to their press release.
Once signed up, members could avail the following services and choose from the servicing areas:
Round Trip – Php693.00 Weekly
Round Trip – Php2,970.00 Monthly
Unli Ride – Php1,400 Weekly
Unli Ride – Php6,000 Monthly
Metro Manila
Bulacan
Rizal
Laguna
Metro Cebu
It seems like a promising service to somehow ease and help commuters with their ride to and from their workplaces. To know more about who they are and what they do, give their website a visit.
{U-HOP}
OPISYAL NA PAHAYAG NG U- HOP TUNGKOL SA TWEET NI @LTFRB_Chairman
Noong Biyernes, Oktubre 23, lumabas ang message na ito sa social media site na Twitter:
?@LTFRB_Chairman- Breaking News: LTFRB denies U-HOP’s application as Transportation Network Company (TNC).
Kakabit ng tweet ang dokumentong ito:
Makalipas ang ilang minuto, naglabas naman ng clarification o paglilinaw si Atty. Ariel Inton, LTFRB Board Member at isa sa pumirma sa naturang memorandum. Narito ang pahayag ni Atty. Inton:
STATEMENT FROM ATTY. ARIEL INTON BOARD MEMBER, LTFRB
I dont know of any decision denyhng uhops application to be accredted as tnc. What the board en banc did was to write a memo to sec abaya saying that under the existing dept order and memo circular uhop cannot qualify asa tnc. And there is a need to come out w a new denomination as a shuttle app base transpo service. A memo to the dotc sec is not a board decisiön. hence there is no decision yet on uhop aplcation
Malinaw sa nilalaman ng memorandum at sa pahayag ni Atty. Inton na hindi totoong hindi inaprubahan ang aplikasyon ng U- Hop, kundi isa lamang itong rekomendasyon para sa pagsusulong ng bagong Department Order para sa mga app based shuttle service.
Ngayong araw, Oktubre 24, lumabas ang mga pahayag ni LTFRB Chairman Winston Ginez sa Inquirer. net at Philstar.com. Ilan sa kanyang sinabi ay ang mga sumusunod:
“U-Hop cannot operate yet. They will be colorum and we’ll apprehend them,”
Ginez said he would write U-Hop on Monday “to formally inform them of the board’s decision and tell them to cease even the seminars they’ve been conducting. And to possibly close down their Facebook page until the matter is resolved.”
Nakakalungkot at nakakapagtaka ang mga pahayag na ito lalo na’t nauna nang nilinaw ni Atty. Inton na rekomendasyon at hindi denial ang nilalaman ng memorandum.
Pero mukhang hindi nagustuhan ng mga netizen ang mga pahayag ni LTFRB Chairman Ginez. Makikita sa reaksyon nila ang pagkadismaya sa mga nangyayari.
Ang U- hop po ay sumunod sa legal na proseso at wala po kaming nilalabag na batas. Kami po ay pormal na nagprisinta ng aming business model kay LTFRB Chairman Winston Ginez noong Hulyo 14, taong kasalukuyan. Nang sumunod na araw o noong Hulyo 15, naghain kami ng aplikasyon para maging isang Transportation Network Company. Pero sa hindi malamang dahilan ay hindi ito tinanggap ng LTFRB. Nakakapagtaka ito dahil lahat naman dapat ng aplikasyon ay tanggapin at pag- aralan ng LTFRB.
Noong Agosto 13, kay DOTC Secretary Joseph Abaya naman namin ipinaliwanag ang konsepto ng U- hop. Nagustuhan ni Secretary Abaya ang aming business model. Sa katunayan ay lumabas ang kanyang kasiyahan sa mga pahayag niya sa media. Kinabukasan, muli kaming nagsumite ng aplikasyon at pormal na itong tinanggap ng LTFRB.
Noong Setyembre 2, binisita ni LTFRB Executive Director Atty. Roberto Cabrera ang headquarters ng U- hop. Si Atty. Cabrera rin ang pinuno ng Accreditation Committee ng LTFRB. Noong Setyembre 7, inaprubahan ng LTFRB Accreditation Committee ang aming aplikasyon. Noon namang Setyembre 24, pinirmahan na rin ni Board Member Ariel Inton ang aming accreditation. Pero pagkatapos noon, tila tinulugan na ng ibang opisyal ng LTFRB ang aming aplikasyon. Bakit kaya?
Patuloy po kaming makikipag- ugnayan sa LTFRB para mabigyan kami ng accreditation bilang kauna-unahang Filipino Transportation Network Company. Sana po ay mabigyan kami ng pagkakataon na isulong ang aming programa na naglalayong magbigay ng ligtas, maginhawa at maaasahang transportasyon para sa publiko. Sa U- hop, hindi na kailangang pumila ng ilang oras sa init ng araw at malakas na ulan, hindi na kailangang makipagsiksikan o makipagbalyahan para makakuha ng masasakyan.
Ang hiling lang po namin ay bigyan kami ng patas na pagtrato katulad ng ibinigay sa ibang TNC.
Nakahanda rin kaming itaguyod ang aming mga karapatan sa ilalim ng batas laban sa mga malisyoso at hindi makatwirang desisyon at aksyon ng ilang opisyal ng LTFRB. Alam naming nasa panig namin ang Diyos at batas.
Hello LTFRB!
I’m sure they already secured all docs involving legalities etc of this new service. Got to try this.
May naka-try na ba nito? How was it? So parang school service na isa-isa kayong susunduin, except iba-iba din ang drop-off points niyong lahat na sakay ng shuttle?