Healthy competition is best for consumers
September 13, 2022CitizenWatch Philippines believes that competition ultimately redounds to the benefit of the consumers. Players in any given field must not shun competition but instead welcome it as an opportunity to improve themselves and strive to work better for the public.
Specifically, we refer to calls to review the agreement between Grab and MoveIt – entities which recently reached an investment agreement to join forces to help alleviate the public transportation crisis besetting commuters in the country.
The investment deal between Grab and MoveIt was conceived as a response to the difficulties encountered by the riding public especially as the economy reopens and schools resume face-to-face classes. The current state of public transportation has been having difficulty coping with the influx of daily commuters, leaving them literally and figuratively stranded as they make their way back into the new normal. Other options are simply too expensive for the average income earner or allowance receiver to afford.
Grab’s investment in Move-It is a testament to Grab’s confidence in the resurgence of the economy. It intends to use its resources to improve and level-up the Move-it’s services in order to achieve a more vibrant and competitive moto-taxi market which will ultimately benefit the riding public.
Moreover, rejecting an agreement already signed sends a negative message to investors, local and foreign alike, whom we are trying to engage to jumpstart our economic recovery and development. The message that should be sent, instead, is that we are open to anything that would drive us to be more efficient and customer-centric services, and that agreements in this country are held sacrosanct, and thus honored. Our investment environment must be stable, not unpredictable.
As advocates, we should encourage developmental actions that benefit the people’s interests. Public transportation is imbued with a sense of public interest. We have to ensure that workers and students would be able to return to a semblance of normalcy without being weighed down by mobility challenges.