Grab imposing P50 fine for cancelled bookings, no-shows…

MANILA, Philippines — Passengers of ride-hailing firm Grab Philippines who will cancel after five minutes of a confirmed booking or those who do not show at their pick-up points after five minutes will be fined P50.

“Grab is mindful that cancellations are frustrating for both the passengers and our drivers. At the same time, we are cognizant of the fact that sometimes, cancellations are necessary during special situations,” Grab President Brian Cu said in a statement.

Grab Philippines on Monday said its new policy is aimed at reducing unreasonable cancellations for drivers and passengers.

“Our intention in implementing this new policy is to create a better ride-hailing ecosystem, where both passengers and drivers practice the responsible use of the Grab platform,” he added.

Grab said the cancellation fees incurred will go directly to the driver to compensate them for fuel and effort they have spent travelling to the location of the passenger.

The cancellation fee and no-show fees, however, will not be applied to passengers if the ride is cancelled within five minutes of getting an assigned a driver, if the driver is not moving towards the pick-up point, if the driver takes 15 minutes longer than the first estimated time of arrival, and if the driver indicates that he has arrived when he or she has not.

The ride-hailing company said it is willing to refund any fees that were charged wrongly within 48 hours.

The updated policy is effective on Monday, April 29, but Grab said is doing a staggered toll out to both passengers and drivers, which will be completed by the end of May.

Among the other policies the ride-hailing company put in place to further discourage cancellations include:

For drivers:

1. Completion rate – Drivers are penalized if they go below the required completion rate. Completion rate is computed based on complete bookings, cancellation rates, and ignored jobs. Completion rate also heavily affects incentives.
2. Driver Timeout –  If a driver excessively ignores or cancels booking requests, they are locked out of the platform for a temporary period of time.
3. Ratings and Complaints Analysis – Drivers with passenger complaints and low star ratings are also flagged. Grab gives out warnings, and suspends or eventually bans drivers over repeat offenses.
4. 5-Star Driver Tipping Feature – For drivers who go above and beyond, a new tipping feature allowing passengers to reward the drivers with 5-star rating has been rolled out.

For passengers:

1. 30 GrabRewards Points – When a driver cancels on a ride, the passenger automatically gets 30 GrabRewards points, which he or she can use to redeem items or vouchers in the GrabRewards catalog.
2. Passenger Timeout – After excessive cancellations, the passenger’s account will temporarily be suspended for 24 hours.
3. Cancellation Fees – P50 fee will apply to passengers who cancel the ride after 5 minutes of getting assigned a driver.
4. No-show Fees – P50 fee will apply if a passenger doesn’t show up at the pick-up point within 5 minutes for GrabCar and 3 minutes for GrabShare upon the driver’s arrival.

Meanwhile, passenger’s accounts could be suspended for 24 hours should they cancel a ride twice in an hour, thrice in a day or a total of five cancellations in a week, Grab said.

Drivers will also be penalized or locked out of the platform if they excessively ignore or cancel passenger bookings without proper reason and for being selective of passenger destinations.

Grab said it has notified the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) about its new cancellation policy.  /gsg