Around 3,000 Grab drivers were able to avoid the ride-hailing app’s purge of colorum drivers.
In a report by The STAR, some of the drivers were able to submit the necessary documents to show proof that they applied for provisional authority or certificate of public convenience with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) before Grab’s self-imposed deadline last June 10.
“We have received 3,000 drivers showing proof they have a provincial authority and they went through the process,” Grab Philippines president Brian Cu said.
This means that out of the 8,000 drivers, around 5,000 colorum drivers have been deactivated from Grab.
There are about 45,000 units that are registered on Grab’s platform. However, around 15,000 drivers have been deactivated by the ride-hailing platform since January for lack of documents and inactivity.
Apart from that, around 1,000 drivers were also removed from Grab due to bad behaviour.
Cu explained that they have deactivated some of their drivers to comply with LTFRB’s regulation on colorum drivers.
Grab started deactivating some of its drivers who operate without provisional permit on Monday.
Cu said that booking through Grab will be more difficult following the deactivation of some of its drivers, saying that the number of vehicles needed to provide service to commuters on a daily basis is already scarce by around 15,000 vehicles.
Meanwhile, some drivers who were affected by the purge held a protest outside the LTFRB office along East Avenue in Quezon City to seek amnesty on Grab’s decision to deactivate some of its colorum drivers. – With reporting from Emmanuel Tupas/STAR