MANILA - Grab Philippines on Wednesday appealed to regulators to add more drivers to the ride-sharing service as the easing of pandemic restrictions pushes up demand.

Grab said that while demand for ridesharing has risen, the supply of drivers has fallen as a lot of drivers had dropped out of its platform.

"Despite Grab Philippines’ efforts to support driver-partners on the platform, the prolonged suspension of ride-hailing during the height of the lockdowns forced thousands of GrabCar driver-partners to give up their cars, or look for alternative income opportunities elsewhere," Grab said in a statement.

The company said transport network vehicle services or TNVS supply is determined and controlled by the Land Transport Franchising and Regulatory Board, and Grab is required to abide by their guidelines.

"Even if Grab wanted to accept new driver-partners to meet the increasing demand, only those vehicles licensed by the LTFRB are allowed to be on the platform," it said.

Grab said it welcomed the LTFRB's announcement last April 12 that it will open almost 8,000 TNVS slots on April 18 through the TNVS online portal.

The additional TNVS slots however are still not enough to meet the increasing demand, Grab said.

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