Grab: Fares still within LTFRB matrix

MANILA, Philippines — Ridesharing firm Grab yesterday assured the public that its fares remain within the approved matrix of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) despite the deactivation of 5,000 of its units.

“Grab will continue to uphold our commitments to our regulators by assuring the riding public that our fare structure is still within the LTFRB’s approved TNVS fare matrix,” Grab Philippines public affairs manager Nicka Hosaka said in a statement.

Hosaka gave the assurance in response to a statement of commuter network The Passenger Forum (TPF) that 78 percent of passengers of Grab’s transport network vehicles service (TNVS) units have suffered more expensive fares due to surge pricing.

The survey, which the group claims was done online from June 14 to 15, had 100 respondents.

“Aside from more frequent and higher fares, our survey also found out that 72 percent of TNVS passengers experienced difficulty in booking after the June 10 deactivation of TNVS units,” TPF convenor Primo Morillo said in a statement.

Morillo said the survey results prove their previous assertion that commuters will bear the brunt of the mass deactivation of TNVS units.

But Hosaka said they have provided immediate solutions to the problem such as GrabShare, wherein units are allowed to service as many passengers as possible on the road.

She admitted it is not enough, noting that 15,000 to 20,000 more units are needed to address the current demand.

“As demand continue to grow, there are simply not enough TNVS to ferry commuters,” Hosaka said.