LTFRB suspends P2 per minute charge of Grab

MANILA, Philippines —The Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board on Tuesday ordered the suspension of the travel time charge of P2/minute being implemented by ride-hailing service company Grab.

“The board directs respondent My Taxi.PH Inc. to immediately suspend the imposition of P2 per minute charge,” the order read.

“The order shall be effective until further order of the board,” it added.

The order was signed on Wednesday but was only released to the media on Thursday.

LTFRB Chair Martin Delgra and board members Aileen Lizada and Ronalda Corpus concurred the order.

The regulatory board said Grab’s fare structure should be consistent with the board's order last Dec. 27, 2016, which states that ride-hailing services should charge a flagdown rate of P40.

The December 2016 order also did not include travel duration charges but allows Grab to charge an additional P10 to P14 per kilometer.

The LTFRB made the directive after Rep. Jericho Nograles (PBA party-list) complained of alleged illegal charging by Grab and asked the ride-hailing firm to explain to the public how they came up with the P2/minute charge.

Delgra said Grab did not inform them when they imposed the travel duration charge but the company insisted that it did notify them a month after they made the fare adjustment.

Grab said it imposed the P2/minute charge early June. It admitted that they did not inform the public about the fare change.

The ride-hailing service is slated to explain when it implemented the charge and how many rides were affected in the next hearing into the alleged hidden charges on May 29.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate economic affairs committee, on Wednesday urged Grab to refund the estimated P1.8 billion in illegal fees it took from riders through a hidden metering system.