Grab to implement ‘destination masking’

In a bid to further reduce complaints about driver cancellations, Grab will remove starting on Friday the feature on its app that allows drivers to see the destination of their riders before they accept a trip request.

On top of the destination masking, the transport network company will also activate on Friday an “auto-accept feature” to prevent their drivers from rejecting passengers.

Only 25%

Grab Philippines country head Brian Cu said on Tuesday that the “destination masking” would initially be implemented on 25 percent of drivers on their platform with a historically low acceptance rate.

Cu added that they decided to implement this measure since the feature had become “a major source of complaints.”

A number of passengers have complained on social media that Grab drivers would often ask them to cancel their trip request if their destination was too far.

Some drivers, on the other hand, would deliberately not show up at the pickup point although the app would show they were just nearby, forcing their passenger to cancel.

But Cu said the destination feature would be activated in the wee hours of the morning for their drivers’ safety.

Grab’s decision to tweak its app’s features comes a day after it announced the suspension or outright ban of around 500 drivers following an internal investigation into complaints.

Lack of drivers still a problem

Cu pointed out though that even with these measures in place, booking a ride would not become easier since the lack of drivers on their platform remained a problem.

Earlier, he said that while nearly all of Uber’s riders have transferred to Grab, the number of drivers on its system had gone up by only 30 percent.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has lauded Grab for its initiative to resolve the complaints without waiting for the board to take action.