MANILA - Grab said Wednesday its fleet of 35,000 vehicles responds to 600,000 requests for booking every day, illustrating an "overflow in demand" that results in long waiting times.

Before it acquired Uber last month, Grab said it had 24,000 vehicles and served up to 65 percent of booking requests. Only 11,000 of Uber vehicles moved to Grab.

Only 53 percent of passengers get a ride on their first booking attempt, which goes down to 37 percent on average during peak hours, Grab said.

"Driver numbers continue to drop as uncertainty in maintaining sustainable livelihood increases," Grab Philippines country head Brian Cu said, citing regulators' suspension of the company's P2 per minute fare.

"Majority of social media sentiment 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," he said.

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