‘Undersupply of cars’ causing less trips and surge pricing, says Grab

An overflow in passenger bookings coupled with a “severe undersupply of cars” is the root of complaints related to less trips and surge pricing, Grab Philippines Head Brian Cu said on Wednesday.

Cu explained during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay that while the normal operating capabilities for Transport Network Companies (TNCs) is set at 75 percent, Grab currently operates at 60 percent.

According to Grab, this means that for each day, there are 600,000 rider bookings while there are only 35,000 vehicles.

“As a result, only 53 percent of passengers are able to get a ride on their first booking attempt, but this goes down to as low as 37 percent on average during peak hours,” Grab said in a statement.

Grab also denied claims that there were few vehicles on the roads because drivers ignore bookings and are choosy in picking trips.

“Majority of social media sentiments we monitor regarding the inability to get a ride is due to the perception of choosy drivers, but in reality this is because there are no available cars in the area,” Cu said.

Grab recently modified its application, preventing drivers from viewing the destinations of the riding public.

READ: Grab to implement ‘destination masking’

“We are reassuring the riding public that we are addressing their concern regarding undisciplined drivers and we are thankful for their understanding of the current situation”, he added.

Uber drivers still displaced

Grab called on Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to allow the operation of the remaining 6,000 drivers from the Uber acquisition.  According to Cu, these drivers were not in LTFRB’s masterlist even before Grab bought out Uber.

“We appeal to the LTFRB to allow the displaced 6,000 Uber drivers who are not part of the masterlist to continue driving with their chosen TNC in order to support the demand,” Cu said.

Cu added that integrating these drivers to any TNC would provide an estimated additional 72,000 rides per day.

Grab Philippines’ Marketing Head Cindy Toh also said that the company would announce changes in the coming days, to address several problems plaguing the system.

“We just like to ask our passengers and drivers to understand the current situation.  We’re doing everything, we have a commitment to ensure the improvements will be rolled out which will be announced in the coming days,” Toh said.

“In the meantime, we encourage our riders to maximize available vehicles by sharing their ride with other passengers using GrabShare,” Toh added.    /muf