Grab PH Shifts from Incentives to Subsidies to Level Drivers’ Earnings

Grab Philippines Managing Director Brian Cu said that his company has shifted from providing incentives to subsidies dished out to partner-drivers.

 

In an interview, Cu that the shift was made from rebates to subsidies after the net commission of drivers had gone “as low as 12 percent, which is a significant decrease from 20 percent.”

 

“In subsidies, over the last two weeks we’ve paid over P60-70 million (to the drivers),” said Cu.

 

According to him, the shift was made is to spread out the earnings to both full-time and part-time drivers. 

 

“The reason why we shifted is because we saw a lot of drivers driving part-time who do not hit incentives. There are trips na nalulugi sila (they are losing income). So, the subsidies ensure the spreading of spend on assisting driver income, occurs on a more broad basis,” Cu explained. 

 

“Rather than a few getting a lot, there’s now a lot getting enough,” he added. 

 

Meanwhile, Grab Philippines Public Affairs Head Leo Gonzales said that the company awaits the decision of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on the petition to increase the fare.

 

Gonzales said the board’s decision on their petition is coming up with a standardized structure that will be fair to all TNCs concerned. “We don’t know yet how it will affect our petition, but [the petition], as of now, is still pending with the board,” he said in a separate interview.

 

Earlier, the LTFRB ordered Grab Philippines to amend its fare hike petition.

 

During an LTFRB hearing last May, the board asked Grab to amend its fare hike petition for transparency and accuracy purposes, saying that the fare structure was not  explained well. 

 

In its petition last January, Grab sought to increase its average fare by 5.73 percent (P10 to P14 per kilometer charge to P11-P15) instead of the P40 base rate.