Grab's 'pricing issues' trigger credits to riders

MANILA, Philippines — Grab Philippines is disbursing P6.25 million to select passengers in Metro Manila to comply with orders from antitrust regulators who called out the ride-hailing firm for “pricing issues.”

Passengers who took a Grab ride in Metro Manila from August 11 to October 31, 2019 are qualified to receive a disbursement, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

For every P488 fare paid at the time, customers can expect a P1 to be credited through GrabRewards on February 9. Recipients would have to complete Grab's “know-your-customer” process before qualifying for refund.

The overall amount to be disbursed represents the “administrative fee” slapped by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to Grab for breaching its pricing commitments. The PCC decision was issued on December last year, but a public copy of which has remained unavailable as of this posting.

Despite incurring penalty, the Singapore-based ride-hailing app denied overcharging its passengers and maintained that its fares were compliant to regulatory rules.

“The lack of GrabCar supply has been a challenge. During peak hours, there tend to be a lower number of available cars on the road servicing a higher number of passengers trying to book a ride,” the company explained.

“Drivers need to be encouraged to service passengers during this time, and be fairly compensated for their time spent on the busy roads servicing the passengers. Unfortunately it is during such situations when our surge fares resulted in a breach of the maximum pricing threshold set by the PCC,” it added.

Grab has been on the radar of antitrust regulators at home and abroad since the company bought its main rival Uber in Asia in 2018, effectively allowing to monopolize the ride-sharing platform in countries where there are no bigger rivals to challenge its presence. 

Apart from Grab, Indonesia’s Gojek remains the other bigger player in the space, but there were unconfirmed talks the two are also finalizing a merger.

At the time Grab purchased Uber’s operations in Asia, former Grab Philippines President Brian Cu sought to soothe concerns the lack of competition will result in higher fares disadvantageous to riders. Cu had since left the firm last year, and on Thursday, was announced separately to be a new independent director at Cebu Air Inc., the operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific.

PCC’s penalty marked a new setback for Grab, whose booming delivery business has failed to shield the company from the pandemic’s impact. Last June, the company let go of over 300 employees in its Southeast Asian base, including the Philippines.