GRAB admitted on Tuesday its allocation rate has dwindled due to the deactivation of 5,000 of its transport network vehicle service (TNVS) units, and advised users to book for its carpooling service while it addresses the dearth of service cars on the road.
Nicka Hosaka, the company’s spokesman, said her group is now facing the “challenge” of allotting vehicles for users after it deactivated more than a tenth of its supply of cars due to their lack of franchise.
“Grab aligns itself with the Filipino people in improving the state of transportation in the country, and continues to work on meaningful initiatives that aim to ease the industry’s pain points, and uplift the lives of many Filipinos,” she said. “As demand continues to grow, there are simply not enough TNVS to ferry Filipino commuters.”
Hosaka noted the industry needs to onboard between 15,000 vehicles and 20,000 vehicles to meet the current demand in the ride-hailing sector. It is estimated that Grab receives roughly 700,000 to 800,000 booking requests daily.
“Social solutions such as GrabShare, has been launched to help maximize the cars on the road, and be able to service as many passengers as possible—thus minimizing the effects of the recent 5,000 TNVS deactivation. However, these are merely remedial steps as 15,000 to 20,000 more TNVS units are needed to address the current demand,” Hosaka said.
Today, Grab’s pool of vehicles has dwindled to about 40,000 TNVS after it deactivated 5,000 units in its system. The number of active drivers varies per day due to number coding, and frequency of service, among others.
Sunday saw commuter network The Passenger Forum (TPF) releasing an online survey that noted 78 percent of passengers “suffered more frequent and expensive fares due to surge pricing.”
“Aside from more frequent and higher fares, our survey also found that 72 percent of TNVS passengers experienced difficulty in booking after the June 10 deactivation of TNVS units,” Grab said.
Grab noted, however, that its fare matrix is “still within the approved” limits set by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
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