MANILA -- Ridesharing firm Grab Philippines announced on Wednesday that it has suspended the implementation of its cancellation and no-show fees pending review by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
“Grab and the other TNCs (transportation network companies) agreed to maintain the status quo as requested by the Board until appropriate guidelines are issued by the LTFRB with the assistance of the TWG,” Grab public affairs manager Nicka Hosaka told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
The move was in compliance with the directive of the LTFRB to suspend the fees following its meeting with Grab and other TNCs on Tuesday.
The Board has created a technical working group (TWG) composed of representatives from different TNCs to discuss passenger and driver cancellation policies.
Grab implemented last April 29 a PHP50 cancellation fee that will be charged to passengers who cancel the ride after five minutes of getting assigned a driver and a PHP50 no show-up fee if a passenger did not show up at the pick-up point within five minutes for GrabCar and three minutes for GrabShare upon the driver’s arrival.
A passenger’s account could be suspended for 24 hours if they cancel rides twice in an hour, thrice in a day or a total of five cancellations per week.
Drivers will also be locked out of the platform for a temporary period of time if they force passengers to cancel ride bookings without any reason and for being selective of passenger destinations.
The ridesharing firm said the new policy aims to reduce unreasonable cancellations by both drivers and passengers.
The policy was implemented on a staggered basis for both riders and passengers and is expected to be completed within this month.
“We wish to clarify that while Grab has announced the intended implementation of passenger cancellation fees this month, no fees have yet been charged or collected, since actual implementation of the policy was set to start next week,” Hosaka said.
Grab assured that it will continue to provide further updates as discussions with the LTFRB progress. (PNA)
