Grab seeks PBBM’s support to increase ridership by 500K per day

SERVICE EXPANSION. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with the officials of Grab Holdings Inc., led by chief executive officer Anthony Tan, at the President’s Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday (Feb. 20, 2024). During the meeting, Grab officials discussed with Marcos the company’s plan to expand its services in the Philippines. (PCO Photo)

MANILA – Ride-hailing company Grab Philippines has sought President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s support to achieve its ridership target of 500,000 per day, Malacañang said Wednesday.

This, as top executives of Grab Holdings Inc., led by co-founder and chief executive officer Anthony Tan, paid a courtesy call on Marcos at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said.

“Grab, a super-app developer, is seeking the President’s support to back its plans for the Philippines, saying it targets to increase its ridership to half a million rides a day from the current 300,000 each day,” Garafil said in a statement.

During the meeting at Malacañan Palace, Tan stressed that with Marcos’ support, Grab can attain its ridership goal in six months.

Tan told Marcos that to date, Grab’s ridership has increased to over 300,000 every day, significantly higher compared to 8,000 rides a day when the ride-hailing firm acquired “Move It.”

He also cited a former habal-habal driver operating for 10 years who now makes as much as three times than before with the help of Grab, or an earning between PHP1,500 to PHP2,500 daily, which is higher than his previous earnings of around PHP500 to PHP700 daily.

“So, it’s not just about the number of jobs, Mr. President. It’s the quality, increasing livelihood,” Tan told Marcos, as quoted by the PCO.

In a Facebook post, Marcos said he is working with Grab to legalize motorcycle (MC) taxis and relax regulations on transport network vehicle service (TNVS).
“More transport options will benefit commuters, drivers and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises),” he said.

Marcos also acknowledged Grab’s contribution in generating local employment in the country.

“Your impact on unemployment numbers comprises about 1.1 percent of the increase in employment in the past year and half. That was Grab, so that’s the 300,000 that we’re talking about has a significant effect,” he said.

“Actually, there are upstreams and downstreams that comes with it. So yeah, there are jobs created, not only the actual operators,” Marcos added.

In 2023, Grab created more than 100,000 driver and operator jobs and digitalized over 15,000 MSMEs, which contributed to easing the national unemployment rates by 1.1 percent to 1.6 percent from 2019 to 2021.

GrabCar is operating in 25 cities, while GrabFood provides services to more than 100 cities nationwide.

The Grab recommended last year the deregulation of the supply of TNVS and the legalization of MC taxis.

The Department of Transportation has said the removal of the supply cap will need further evaluation, which will be based on the consultation and data provided by the transportation network companies and other relevant data.

Tan also discussed with Marcos the plan of Grab to incorporate electronic vehicles into its services, based on a statement posted on state-run Radio Television Malacañang.

Grab offers a wide range of services, including ride-hailing, food delivery, parcel delivery, digital payment and financial services.

Grab Philippines seeks to expand its operations to 10 more cities and municipalities this year.

Currently, there are about 40,000 drivers registered with the Grab TNVS, with around 30,000 operating in Metro Manila.

Apart from Grab and Move It, the country has seen in recent years the rise of other app-based TNVS, ride-hailing, and food delivery services like Angkas, JoyRide, Foodpanda and TokTok.