With more Filipinos now going back to their offices, ride-hailing app Grab has urged the government to approve the onboarding of more drivers to address the complaints of passengers who continue to express their difficulties in taking GrabCar.
The company said the pandemic created a serious imbalance in GrabCar’s supply and demand condition, resulting in fewer GrabCar driver-partners on the road having to serve an increasing number of passengers.
“Despite Grab Philippines’ efforts to support driver-partners on the platform, the prolonged suspension of ride-hailing during the height of the lockdowns forced thousands of GrabCar driver-partners to give up their cars, or look for alternative income opportunities elsewhere,” it said.
Grab pointed out that TNVS (transport network vehicle service) supply is determined and controlled by the LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board) as the chief regulator, and TNCs (transport network companies) such as Grab are required to abide by their guidelines.
“Even if Grab wanted to accept new driver-partners to meet the increasing demand, only those vehicles licensed by the LTFRB are allowed to be on the platform,” it said.
Grab said it has anticipated the uptick in the demand and is working with the LTFRB to onboard more TNVS drivers on the platform. Last April 12, the company learned that the LTFRB will open a batch of almost 8,000 TNVS slots on April 18 through the TNVS online portal.
“As soon as the LTFRB TNVS online portal is ready to accept TNVS driver sign-ups, we expect additional TNVS drivers to be on the road in 2-3 months’ time after completing the LTFRB-mandated onboarding procedures,” Grab said.
“While these additional TNVS slots are not enough to meet the increasing demand for GrabCar, Grab continues to work with the LTFRB to add more TNVS slots to better serve the needs of the riding public,” it said.
