Hike in ride booking cancellation by drivers due to low fares – Grab

A commuter books a vehicle via ride-hailing app Grab in Metro Manila. (Photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Cancellation of ride bookings by drivers of Grab Philippines has increased after the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) suspended its P2 per minute travel charge in its fare system.

This was disclosed by the ride-hailing firm on Monday, as it defended its move to implement the travel charge in order to help drivers recoup their expenses and earn better.

According to the transport network company (TNC), their driver cancellation rate reached 11 percent last Friday and Saturday, and were predominantly due to the low fares brought about by the suspension of the P2 per minute travel charge.

Grab said the low fares made drivers opt to drive less, and only enabled the company to service half of the demand last weekend.

“Drivers have to buy gas, pay the monthly amortization for the vehicle, or the daily boundary, and when traffic stalls them, it is only the P2 per minute that saves their income. So with the P2 gone, many of our drivers earn less and drive less, if at all,” Grab Country Head Brian Cu said in a statement.

“No matter how willing they are to drive, they are left with no choice but to think of ways to recover their expenses. Sadly, most of them have resorted to cancelling bookings especially when they know they will traverse traffic,” he added.

Last week, LTFRB issued an order immediately suspending Grab’s P2 per minute travel charge. This came after Grab admitted that there were no communications made through their application to inform the riders of the fare component.

READ: Grab PH admits failure to inform riders of P2-per-minute charge / Grab ordered to stop P2/minute of travel charge ASAP

Grab obeyed the order and implemented a stop to the P2 per minute travel charge since Friday but has appealed to the LTFRB by filing a motion for reconsideration, explaining that the P2 per minute travel time fare component was legal based on the 2015 order of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The DOTr order authorizes TNCs to set their own fares but with LTFRB’s oversight.

READ: Grab stops collecting P2 travel charge

Cu said the P2 is not a Grab income because 80 percent goes directly to the driver while the 20 percent is spent on driver incentives and rider promos.

“Let’s face it: ‘pag lugi ang driver, hindi lalabas ‘yan. Walang masasakyan ang tao,” he pointed out.               /kga