Grab sanctions 500 drivers for unjustified cancellations
Published Apr 23, 2018 03:39 pm
By Emmie Abadilla and Alexandria San Juan
Grab Philippines has sanctioned at least 500 partner-drivers last week following an internal investigation into their cancellation of passengers' bookings and other violations.
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
The ride hailing firm expects more drivers to be disciplined in the days to come as it purges its drivers to improve their services, announced Grab country head Brian Cu.
“Only 5% cancellation rate is allowed as metric for incentives. Those with 10% and above cancellation rate per week may face sanctions such as suspension and complete banning from the platform,” he noted.
“We have rolled out additional and stricter measures to address issues on cancellations and this is just the start. We will never tolerate any behavior that compromises the quality of our service. We see every post and complaint. We apologize that our services fell short. However, we will move forward.”
“Passengers with reported complaints may also face sanctions,” Cu warned.
Hence, Grab encourages passengers to be “responsible” by maintaining minimal and valid cancellations and keeping wait time to no more than 7 minutes.
In the wake of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)’s order to suspend Grab’s P2 per minute travel charge, driver cancellation rate doubled at 11 percent last Friday and Saturday, and were predominantly driven by low fares.
As a result, drivers drove less and Grab was only able to service half of the passenger demand.
"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,” he explained.
“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."
Grab has appealed to the LTFRB and filed a motion for reconsideration explaining that the P2 per minute travel time fare component was legal (based on the 2015 Department of Transportation) and necessary to protect the livelihood of driver partners.
The P2 per minute travel charge is not a Grab income because 80 percent goes to the driver directly while the 20 percent is spent on driver incentives and rider promos, Cu pointed out.
Grab hopes the LTFRB will reinstate the travel time fare since it is ultimately for the benefit of both riders and passengers.
"Let's face it. If the driver loses, he won’t work. Passengers won’t get their rides.”
Grab is Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform servicing 620 million people in the region.
LTFRB member Atty. Aileen Lizada said that they will be issuing show cause order on drivers facing complaints from riders.
Lizada shared that transport network companies have internal complaint mechanisms wherein it will summon the driver for retraining or suspension.
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
The ride hailing firm expects more drivers to be disciplined in the days to come as it purges its drivers to improve their services, announced Grab country head Brian Cu.
“Only 5% cancellation rate is allowed as metric for incentives. Those with 10% and above cancellation rate per week may face sanctions such as suspension and complete banning from the platform,” he noted.
“We have rolled out additional and stricter measures to address issues on cancellations and this is just the start. We will never tolerate any behavior that compromises the quality of our service. We see every post and complaint. We apologize that our services fell short. However, we will move forward.”
“Passengers with reported complaints may also face sanctions,” Cu warned.
Hence, Grab encourages passengers to be “responsible” by maintaining minimal and valid cancellations and keeping wait time to no more than 7 minutes.
In the wake of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)’s order to suspend Grab’s P2 per minute travel charge, driver cancellation rate doubled at 11 percent last Friday and Saturday, and were predominantly driven by low fares.
As a result, drivers drove less and Grab was only able to service half of the passenger demand.
"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,” he explained.
“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."
Grab has appealed to the LTFRB and filed a motion for reconsideration explaining that the P2 per minute travel time fare component was legal (based on the 2015 Department of Transportation) and necessary to protect the livelihood of driver partners.
The P2 per minute travel charge is not a Grab income because 80 percent goes to the driver directly while the 20 percent is spent on driver incentives and rider promos, Cu pointed out.
Grab hopes the LTFRB will reinstate the travel time fare since it is ultimately for the benefit of both riders and passengers.
"Let's face it. If the driver loses, he won’t work. Passengers won’t get their rides.”
Grab is Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform servicing 620 million people in the region.
LTFRB member Atty. Aileen Lizada said that they will be issuing show cause order on drivers facing complaints from riders.
Lizada shared that transport network companies have internal complaint mechanisms wherein it will summon the driver for retraining or suspension.