Grab driver-partners ask to reinstate P2-per minute travel charge

Driver-partners of Grab Philippines on Tuesday expressed their desire to reinstate the P2 per minute of travel the company charges from its passengers, saying  they have been earning much lesser since the supposedly illegal charging scheme was halted.

PBA party-list Representative Jericho Nograles, who exposed Grab's P2-per minute charging scheme, held a dialogue with driver-partners at the House of Representatives to know more about their situation.

"Sa totoo lang talaga, ang laking kawalan ng P2 per minute [charge] sa aming mga driver. Halos ang nangyayari na lang sa amin kasi, minsan hindi ko na kayang mag-gross ng P3,000 isang araw," Nino Velasquez, one of Grab's driver-partners, told Nograles.

"Umuuwi ako sa bahay minsan P200, P300. Maghuhulog pa ako ng sasakyan. Ang hiling namin maibalik yung P2 per minute," he lamented.

ATM: PBA party-list Rep. Koko Nograles holds dialogue with Grab drivers. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/ChirxPRSKa

— Erwin Colcol (@erwincolcol) June 5, 2018

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in April ordered the cancellation of the P2-per minute charge of Grab.

The order came after Nograles said Grab is "illegally" charging its passengers P2 per minute of travel time, which he said is not allowed by the LTFRB.

But Grab driver-partner Antonio Rosales said during the dialogue that there has been a huge discrepancy in their income since the LTFRB's order came.

"Napakalaki ng diperensya buhat nung inalis itong P2 per minute charge, at sana po maibalik ito," he said.

Ma. Janina Pineda, leader of a group of Grab driver-partners, illustrated during the dialogue how much each one of them is earning per day.

She said that in general, a Grab driver is earning a gross income of P18,000 per six-day work week for 100 to 120 trips.

However, a Grab driver-operator would usually take home only P655 per day due to expenses incurred during the operation of work per week.

However, each Grab driver would usually take home only P655 per day due to expenses incurred during the operation of work per week.

These include gas, amounting to P6,000 per week, car amortization of P500 day or P3,000 per week, food allowance of P200 per day or P1,200 per week, internet load of P270 per week and the 20 percent commission of Grab of P3,600.

All in all, the total expenses they incurred from their operation per week is P14,070, which, if subtracted from their general gross earning, would only leave them with P3,930 per week or a measly P655 per day.

In the case of driver-partners, they would also have to pay P500 boundary, leaving them with only P155 per day.

While Nograles understands the plight of the driver-partners, he pointed out that it was the LTFRB that implemented the fare scheme for Grab.

"Ang fare ay nasa LTFRB ang pag-apply ng fare, pag-approve ng fare at pag-implement ng fare. After bigyan ng order, susundin dapat yung order," he said.

"Yung Grab, kung hindi sila sumusunod ng batas, apektado lahat. Apektado ang gobyerno, apektado ang driver, apektado ang Grab, apektado ang rider. Yan ang sitwasyon natin ngayon kaya nagkagulo," he added.

Pineda, however, stressed that there is no point in pinning the blame to anyone, and that they should start moving forward.

"May mali na rin kasi from the start. Nirerespeto ko yung opinyon niyo pero para sa akin, let's move forward," she told Nograles.

"Kung ano yung dapat nating ayusin, isabatas, sana let's move forward. Bakit? Dahil ako mismo naiiyak na ako sa income ko per day.

"Huwag na natin isipin kung sino ang nagkamali. Kasi at the end of the conversation, kami ang nahihirapan," she added.

Grab currently has a pending petition for fare hike and introduction of new services before the LTFRB. — RSJ, GMA News