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MANILA - Grab said Tuesday thousands of partner drivers will be trained on new health protocols and given disinfection kits as ride-hailing gradually resumes under the looser lockdown.

Some 1,200 to 1,500 drivers ferried commuters on Monday, the first day of the general community quarantine that replaced the 11-week enhanced community quarantine, said Grab Philippines President Brian Cu.

Up to 17,500 of the 18,000 drivers that can resume operations under the GCQ are on the Grab platform, Cu told ANC.

"We’re ensuring that all drivers that go online have to go through proper safety training and are given disinfection kit from Grab and we’re still ramping up that training process," he said.

"We’re still ramping up the numbers. There’s a reason why there’s a disconnect on what’s approved and what number of vehicles are on the road today and that is due to the safety training that Grab is giving out," Cu said.

The platform will only allow cashless payments, he said. Grab lowered the surge fare to 1.5 times from 2 times, he said.

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