LTFRB's Delgra 'shocked' by latest number of Grab, Uber vehicles

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Martin Delgra III was "shocked" by the latest number of transportation network vehicle services (TNVS) disclosed by Grab and Uber.

"We are shocked to say the least," Delgra said during the House committee on transportation hearing Tuesday on regulatory issues surrounding the TNVS sector.

App-based transport network companies (TNCs) Grab and Uber revealed at the hearing that there are more than 100,000 TNVS vehicles plying the streets of Metro Manila.

Twenty-eight thousand vehicles were operating under each respective network of Grab and Uber, the TNCs disclosed during a hearing in July, Delgra noted.

When asked by lawmakers on Tuesday about the number of vehicles operating under their respective platforms, Uber Philippines Government Relations and Public Policy head Yves Gonzalez said there were 66,000 Uber cars which made a single trip in the past year.

Out of the 66,000, only 2,500 hold a provisional authority (PA) from the LTFRB and 1,000 have a pending application from an extension of the PA, Gonzalez noted.

On the other hand, Grab Philippines country head Brian Cu disclosed 52,398 Grab cars, of which only 3,000 to 4,000 hold a provisional authority.

"Today, they’re saying twice or more than twice as many. That’s why we say we are shocked,” the LTFRB chief said.

“The numbers we've heard today … these are the data we’ve been trying to get since last year, because we need to understand precisely the issue of accountability,” he said.

Every day, Cu said 180,000 to 200,000 passengers are trying to book a ride but only about 150,000 are being served.

“As of now the numbers we accredited, they don’t ply the roads on an hourly basis. If we don’t grow supply by 3 percent a week, then there would be passengers who would not get a ride,” Cu said. — VDS, GMA News