Cebu Mayor's out of the box thinking using Grab and Uber to save taxpayers money

Now this is “Outside the Box” kind of thinking.

The incumbent Cebu Mayor Tommy Osmeña has a  little experiment he likes to test. And this is so insanely simple, the projected result is to the direct advantage of the local government and to the common Filipino taxpayer.

The mayor has partnered with TNVS (Transport Network Vehicle Services) to track the whereabouts of government vehicles and personnel.

 Making Grab and Uber favorable to the tax payer (photo credit to owner)





In the Mayor's official Facebook page, he announced that the city the city government was planning to use Uber’s system to encourage government employees to take, as an alternative, Uber or Grab rides during work, instead of their government-issued vehicles, so the government can monitor and track their movement, as well as make sure they are "actually doing their jobs."

"The days of government employees abusing taxpayer-owned vehicles are finally Uber," Osmeña said.

"What this does is allow our personnel who need to go around the city (tax-mappers and sanitation inspectors for example) to not have to wait for a red-plate to become available. Instead, they can use the app to summon a vehicle just like any other person," Osmeña wrote.

"Also, the use of the app will allow us to track their movements to make sure they’re actually doing their jobs," the Mayor added.

During the period of testing or trial, the mayor said that Cebu’s government employees will also be required to take Grab rides at a discounted rate, instead of buying more vehicles and hiring more personnel to drive their government-issued vehicles.

"Under this program, there will be no more overpriced vehicles with 'missing' spare parts," Mayor Osmeña said.

Osmeña said the "experiment" is expected to save the local government "a lot of money." 

"No more ‘sick’ drivers being paid to do nothing. No more fuel stolen from gas tanks. No more red-plate vehicles used to bring employees’ families to the beach or mall," the mayor wrote.

TNVS like Uber and Grab being available to the public, Osmeña said prices charged to the government can be made "very transparent" while employees can be tracked wherever they go. "Overpricing is next to impossible," he said.