Grab eyes holiday fleet of 5,000 more drivers

MANILA, Philippines — Grab Philippines’ new head has listed the expansion of the driver fleet as one of his priorities, eyeing to add 5,000 cars before Christmas to keep up with the ride-hailing demand.

Grab is seeking to increase its driver count ahead of the usual surge in transport bookings.

The company has initiated talks with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to get more cars on the road.

Grab Philippines head Ronald Roda said he expects a supply boost of around 5,000 drivers for the Christmas season as approved by the LTFRB.

“As always, when Christmas comes, we work primarily with our regulators, which are the DOTr (Department of Transportation) and LTFRB. It takes three to four months of planning to bring new cars into the market,” Roda said.

“The first tranche of cars has been awarded. Hopefully, by Christmas these will be on the road,” he added.

Roda said one of his priorities in his first 100 days as Grab Philippines chief is to get more drivers to minimize the waiting time of passengers booking rides.

Roda said Grab demand grows by as much as four times every December, as consumers travel around Metro Manila to shop and order food for holiday gatherings.