The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently revealed they are looking into the possibility of increasing the number of units permitted for ride-sharing services, such as Grab and Uber, citing an increased demand.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said they would also participate in the study by looking into the number of daily bookings requested.

Both services recently petitioned the LTFRB, requesting fare hikes amid implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

According to the petition submitted by Grab, “The increase in fare would ensure that the current technology would continue giving the riding public the capability of selecting the kind of vehicle desired, the time of pick up, and the exact location of pick up and drop off.”

Uber initially did not file a petition, saying they would first observe the impact of TRAIN Law implementation, but, as of last week, they filed a petition asking for identical hikes as Grab; increasing fares from P10 to P14 per kilometer to P11 to P15 per kilometer, along with increasing the P2 per minute charge to P2.10 per minute./PLL, WDJ