MANILA - Grab Philippines said on Friday the new slots for Transportation Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) licenses could help serve the rising demand while urging regulators to ease the requirements for applications to help more Filipino drivers take advantage of opportunities in the sector.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chair Teofilo Guadiz III earlier announced the agency has allowed 100,000 vehicles to be registered as TNVS. The LTFRB said the guidelines for this are still being finalized.

The announcement was made after Grab co-founder and CEO Anthony Tan met with President Bongbong Marcos Jr in Malacanang where an investment pledge was made which, according to the Presidential Communications Office, could translate to 500,000 jobs.

To date, there are only about 20,000 TNVS operating in the greater Metro Manila area, lower by 65 percent compared to its pre-pandemic level. The demand in December, on the other hand, has reverted to the pre-pandemic level, Grab Philippines Senior Director for Operations Ronald Roda said.

Grab aims to bring its total network in Metro Manila area back to 65,000 and roughly 30,000 to other key cities in the country to fill the first 100,000 slots.

“We estimate that the number of slots required for catering to demand in 2023 for new and existing cities is close to 100,000 TNVS licenses mentioned by the LTFRB in their last statement. For Greater Metro Manila, this simply brings us back to the 65,000 supply cap levels pre-pandemic," he said.

But Roda said the slots won't be immediately filled if the LTFRB won't ease some of the requirements in acquiring a TNVS license.

When applying for a TNVS license, a driver must present a bank certificate of conformity for vehicles being paid by loans. Secondhand vehicle owners are having difficulties obtaining this thus reducing the number of potential drivers, Roda said. Other requirements include proof of financial capability and a proof publication in a newspaper, he said.

“We believe, just give us back the 65,000 cars, let’s not put brand new cars on the road, help us with regulation to use the existing cars because we don’t want to congest,” he said.

"If mobility is back to pre-pandemic level, we need the supply," Roda said.

Grab has also asked LTFRB to allow the expansion to new cities and to extend car TNVS validity beyond 3 years, he said.

Grab also allayed fears that the increase in its network could hurt the salaries of existing drivers. Roda said the goal is to create more jobs, serve the riding public and protect the existing drivers.

He said even at 65,000 network, the fulfilled bookings never breached 85 percent pre-pandemic, which means there is still demand to be serviced and that "an oversupply is unlikely."

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