MANILA - Ride-sharing service Grab asked regulators to allow it to restore its P2-per-minute extra charge, its country head said Friday.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board last month suspended the extra-charge scheme after it was revealed in a meeting with Grab and other stakeholders that the company failed to inform the riders about it.

• LTFRB suspends Grab's P2-per-minute extra charge

"Sa tingin po namin, ito ay patas lang, dahil mayroon din naman mga per minute component ang fares ng mga bagong TNCs (transport network companies)," said country manager Brian Cu, adding that Grab filed the petition to the LTFRB last Tuesday.

(We think this is fair because other TNCs also have per-minute components.)

"Gusto namin malaman nyo, that we are doing what we can para matulungan kayo. Alam namin na mahirap para sa inyo na patuloy na mag-adjust sa walang tigil na pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina at diesel, maging ang maintenance cost ng inyong mga sasakyan," said Cu.

(We want you to know that we are doing what we can to help you. We know it's hard to adjust to the non-stop rise in fuel prices and maintenance cost of your vehicles.)

Grab also has a pending fare hike petition before the LTFRB on top of the extra-charge component, he said.

Grab said it receives about 600,000 passenger booking requests each day, but only has about 35,000 vehicles available to service the customers. This results to higher rates, long waits for cars, or failed bookings.

• Grab: 600,000 bookings per day, but only 35,000 drivers

Due to this demand, new ride-hailing apps have sought accreditation from regulators, including Hirna, MiCab, and Hype.

• MiCab, Hirna, Hype, Grab Taxi can curb 'choosy' drivers, says LTFRB