Congress approves law allowing bus drivers to use taxi apps to evade ATU inspections #Don’tPass | Lime

Lima It is the fifth-heaviest city in terms of vehicle traffic, with eight people killed in traffic accidents every week. This chaotic situation affects public transport used by thousands of residents of the capital, and is further exacerbated by political decisions affecting road safety.

May 30, plenary session Congress Approved the proposed bill Conventional The Transportation Service Intermediary Management Company is mainly engaged in taxi services such as Uber, Didi, Indrive, Cabify, etc. One of the main measures it has identified is to create a The national register of these companies for Protecting the rights and safety of usersThe law requires companies to ask drivers to provide a range of information about themselves, their vehicles and the services they will provide.

• Identification of the vehicle providing the transportation service (license plate, color, model and year).
• Driver identification.
• Fees for services provided.
• Eligibility and Assessment for Services.
• The Services are subject to the Terms and Conditions.
• The route the driver travels or will travel from the start of the service, during the trip, and until the end of the trip at the requested destination.
• An alarm mechanism in the event of an emergency that endangers the safety of passengers.

Likewise, according to the standard, These companies will not be held responsible for crimes that may be committed by taxi drivers using their apps.. “The standard states that companies that manage apps are responsible for providing an intermediary service between two types of users: passengers and drivers. It also identifies a series of requirements for that service, such as asking drivers for vehicle information. However, if a user commits a crime, they will be held responsible for their actions, not the company.”, Digital law expert Erick Iriarte said.

Likewise, the law requires companies to share their List of its registered operatorswhich must be updated quarterly. The same is true for If companies fail to comply with security requirements, the law states that the MTC may ask internet providers to block access to applications and websites it manages..

The bill was passed with 82 votes in favor, 7 votes against, and 1 abstention. Exempted in the second vote86 votes in favor. Finally, The executive branch has no more than 90 calendar days from the date of publication of the law to enact or comply with it.

But, that dispute lie in Supplementary provisions of the Act, Because it abolished the authority of the Urban Transport Authority of Lima and Callao (ATU) to regulate taxi services in the capital..

“In order to apply this law no effect The Lima and Callao Urban Transport Authority approved, through Executive Presidential Resolution No. 162-2023, the second final supplementary provision of the Regulation on the provision of special public transport services in the form of taxis in Lima and Callao”, reading the text with the signatures of the members of Congress Eduardo Salvana, Chairman of the Legislative Transportation Committee.

The ATU regulations determine the conditions, requirements, qualifications and obligations for entry and permanent provision of taxi services in the capital in order to promote formalization. Users of apps that offer taxi services, and anyone else, will no longer need authorization from the technical authorities to provide this service..

Experts criticize the bill

In communication trading, Martin OjedaThe director of the International Chamber of Transport described it as “AberrationsThe additional provisions of Act No. 842, Because it allows the drivers of the above applications to be unsupervised or regulated by the competent authorities that guarantee their regularization. This is despite the fact that their drivers provide a transportation service: their drivers provide transportation services to passengers from one location to another in exchange for compensation.

“Like independent taxi drivers, drivers who use apps to provide taxi services also Must be supervised and managed by competent authorities; This function is performed by the ATU. However, the standard allows them to provide the service without your authorization or supervision.“, hold it.

For this reason, Ojeda believes that the law Providing benefits to drivers who drive illegallymainly for Collective taxi driverswho will be able toMake sure they drive taxis through apps and are not regulated by the ATULikewise, he said that if the standard were enacted, they would not be required to provide regulators with personal information or vehicle conditions. Based on this, he said this would endanger passengers.

Also read: ‘The owners of the Javier Prado’: the nine ringleaders behind the informal minivan mayhem

“Bus drivers will use these apps to evade ATU inspection and work without meeting the minimum requirements for providing quality and safe services to users.. It is promoting the work of bad drivers, unfair competition for regular traffic and exacerbating traffic in Lima. Transport vehicles can become weapons in the wrong hands“, he claimed.

In fact, El Comercio learned that, at least, Two collective taxi unions in Lima plan to install taxis among their drivers through a mobile phone application (driver version) to pretend to be part of a fleet and thus evade all ATU checks. At the same time, it is known that many bus drivers, in parallel to this service, are also application drivers, and they can take advantage of this to prevent the inspector from inspecting them.

Franklin BarretoThe former head of the Philippine National Police’s Traffic Accident Investigation Division also agreed that the regulation increases the danger for passengers who use these apps in search of greater safety. Therefore, one of the ATU’s requirements for drivers to obtain authorization to provide taxi services is: Not appearing in the sub-registration of persons convicted of crimes listed in Article 2 of Law No. 30901. This condemns crimes against sexual freedom, the lives of women, girls, boys, young people, as well as domestic violence, femicide, sexual exploitation, etc.

See also: MTC gives the green light to Combi under 35 years old: it will have an impact on Lima #NOTEPASES

“By removing the requirement for ATU to be formalized, Congress has endangered the integrity of the people, which is the primary purpose of the state under the Constitution. Reports of harassment and attempted kidnapping of users of the app, mainly female passengers, are then likely to increase.Barreto assured.

According to our sources, ATU not consulted by congressional transportation committee Your opinion on the approved bill.

‘Incoherent’ bill

In summary, the experts consulted concluded that Bill 842 is incoherent because it proposes to regulate taxi companies through apps in order to improve the safety of their users, but allows taxi apps to no longer need authorization from the ATU to provide transportation services. They are also not regulated by this agency.

“The bill states that inspection of taxi companies through application will be the responsibility of the MTC. This is a serious setback for the policy of regularization of transport that has been pursued in Lima and Callao since the creation of the ATU, which will restore the “zero record””“Barreto said.

you might be interested: More than three years later, annual inflation in the capital was 2% in May: what will happen in the coming months?

“Most companies that broker taxi service requests do not have offices in PeruTherefore, their behavior is rarely determined by their signature.“Ojeda said. Similarly, experts said The executive branch must abide by laws signed by Congress and is not allowed to regulateIn addition, they also require ATU publicly opposes this rule.

Likewise, former ATU president José Aguilar criticized the measure, calling it “pro-busing.” “The repealed clause states that any vehicle that wants to provide taxi services must obtain authorization from the ATU. That is, now bus drivers or anyone can say they provide taxis and do not need to obtain authorization from the ATU. This is a clear sign in favor of buses and goodbye to the informality of taxi services. I hope the administration will comply with this recommendation and we do not make urban traffic worse or unsafe due to the use of transportation such as taxis.”.

The current management of the ATU also opposes its power to deprive mobile services. A spokesperson for the entity told El Comercio that “a letter has been officially sent to the MTC to give its opinion on the signing of the law, arguing that it should be respected. Therefore, it should not be published. We will make the details public.”

Illegal Rage in Lima