It’s Christmas season again – malls are packed, families are out late, and the streets are drowning in red brake lights. For millions of commuters, this should be the time when reliable transport is most accessible. Instead, it has become a yearly struggle just to get a ride home. And once again, Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) like Grab and InDrive are almost impossible to book when people need them the most.
Grab insists it has “added more drivers,” but on the ground, commuters know better. The truth is simple and inconvenient: These so-called new drivers are mostly recycled. Walang nadadagdag, walang nare-resolve. The numbers tell the story. For discussion purposes, let’s say there are around 5,000 active TNVS drivers on Grab, and about 1,500 of them also moonlight on InDrive. Add JoyRide and the other platforms to the mix and the reality becomes painfully clear: The same small pool of drivers is being passed around by multiple apps.
So while platforms boast growth, commuters feel none of it. The supply is stagnant, but demand surges every December. The result? Agawan sa TNVS. Sky-high surge fares. Endless “no available drivers.” A transport system stretched so thin it snaps every holiday season.
It is not only an inconvenience, but it’s a structural failure. Allowing TNVS moonlighting across platforms keeps the illusion of abundance while masking the shortage. If regulators are serious about commuter welfare, they should enforce rules that prevent one driver from operating in three apps at once. The country doesn’t need recycled drivers, it needs more drivers.
For many of us, the effect is personal. I’ve stopped bringing my car to the mall altogether. Parking is a nightmare; paikot-ikot lang for half an hour searching for a slot. But relying on TNVS isn’t any better, booking is a battle, often a losing one. In a season that should be about togetherness and ease, transportation becomes the biggest obstacle.
Year after year, the government and TNVS operators watch this crisis unfold like it’s an unavoidable tradition. It’s not. The shortage is real, measurable, and solvable. But as long as recycled numbers are passed off as progress, commuters will continue to suffer through the same holiday chaos.
Christmas comes every year. Sadly, so does our broken transport system. It’s time to fix the math, fix the rules, and finally fix the ride.
