Grab eyes payment for cancelled rides

MANILA, Philippines — Passengers may have to pay a fee for cancelling rides booked through the Grab app soon.

In a press conference yesterday, Grab country marketing head Cindy Toh said imposing a fee for cancelled rides is under review.

“We are already reviewing it. For sure, we can implement quickly to credit cards. The challenge we have encountered is what about passengers who pay cash… We will roll it out as soon as we have a solution,” she said.

Ride-hailing app Uber, which recently exited the Philippine market, used to impose a P100 penalty for rides cancelled five minutes or more after the booking is made.

Currently, Grab users who cancel rides more than twice a day will experience difficulty booking a ride as they are removed from the priority list.

Toh said the target is to implement the cancellation fee within 100 days from yesterday.

Aside from the cancellation fee, Toh said Grab is also reviewing whether it would implement destination masking for all partner-drivers.

Late last month, Grab initially rolled out destination masking to 25 percent of drivers with a low acceptance rate.

Grab is also offering incentives to top performing drivers. It will also enforce an improved code of conduct that drivers must follow to maintain access to the app.

The app will likewise have an expanded Grab Driver Academy complete with modules on road courtesy, customer service and data privacy and social media handling.