Grab beefs up provincial network as demand rises
About 35 percent of the new transport network vehicle service (TNVS) slots allocated to Grab Philippines will be allotted to partner-drivers in the provinces to address the growing demand for ride-hailing services.
In a statement on Friday, the super app operator said that about 35,000 out of the 100,000 TNVS licenses would go to the provinces, as its internal forecasts show growing demand outside the capital for its services. Grab said that Pampanga, Albay, Camarines Sur, Iloilo City, Bacolod City and Cebu required additional supply of TNVS.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently approved the additional 100,000 TNVS licenses of the ride-hailing service operator. The number might be increased to match the “needs of the riding public,” LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiana III said earlier.
“For the provinces, an estimate of 35,000 TNVS licenses takes into consideration forecasts based on population size … as well as the activity levels of the current driver pool in December 2022,” said Ronald Roda, senior director for operations of Grab Philippines.
Fulfillment rate
Meanwhile, the remaining 65,000 slots were eyed for the Greater Metro Manila (GMM) area, which includes the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, Laguna and Cavite. The company said it currently has about 20,000 driver-partners in the area.
“Even at 65,000 available cars in GMM, the fulfillment rate—the percentage of bookings that are fulfilled—never breached 85 percent prepandemic, meaning that there was still passenger demand to be fulfilled by the driver-partners,” Roda said.
The super app operator is also looking into expanding in Mindanao cities to fast-track digital transformation initiatives.
“The fresh allocation of TNVS supply is truly a welcome development. Grab has initiated discussions with the local governments of Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan to hopefully launch Grab’s super app services in their cities to enable their constituents to enjoy digital services,” Roda said.
“Historically, Grab noted strong contributions to the local economies of the cities where it operates, as it creates a domino effect on growth — from driver-partners, merchant-partners and down to the consumers,” he added.
