Grab drivers to lawmakers: Bring back per-minute charge

Drivers and operators of Grab yesterday appealed to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and lawmakers to also consider their plight in creating and issuing regulations concerning the ridesharing sector.

They want LTFRB to return the P2 per-minute charge on trips, recently suspended pending a review of its legality, saying they have suffered about 50 percent loss in income since then.

“We are here to let everyone know that we need the riders and the riders need us also. I hope they can look at us as people who need to earn for our families,” Melissa Redulla, a transport network vehicle service provider, said.

They also called on Grab not to implement the destination-masking feature for all drivers, saying that security of drivers should be also considered.

Grab yesterday said that they have implemented destination-masking in 25 percent of its drivers with the lowest acceptance rates.

It also rolled out the auto-accept feature that automatically allocates ride bookings to drivers.

The ride-sharing sector has been on a bumpy ride since Uber stopped operating on Monday after its Southeast Asia operations were sold to Grab.

The sale is under scrutiny by the Philippine Competition Commission.