No Cancellation Fees Made Prior to LTFRB Meeting--Grab

Transport network giant Grab Philippines clarified that it has not yet implemented its supposed policy that would post certain fees on 'unreasonable cancellations'.

Grab PH Public Affairs Manager Nicka Hosaka made the clarification following the meeting with other TNCs and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Tuesday, May 7.

The meeting was made to discuss the discuss passenger and driver cancellation policies.

According to Hosaka, the Board requested for a status quo on the subject, which all the TNCs agreed to follow. The status quo will be lifted "until appropriate guidelines are issued by the LTFRB with the assistance of the TWG."

"In the meantime, 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 claimed.

Earlier, Grab expressed concerns over the plight of both parties when it comes to cancellation of rides.

"Grab is mindful that cancellations are frustrating for everyone--whether for a passenger whose time was wasted, or for a driver who already spent fuel and effort to get to the pick-up point," it said.

Grab PH chief Brian Cu said that the creation of the new policy "is to create a better ride-hailing ecosystem, where both passengers and drivers practice the responsible use of the Grab platform."

Earlier, Khrizzy Pasigan, Grab PH public relations manager, said that the staggered rollout of the new policy as well information drive to driver-partners started April 29 and eyed to be completed by end of May.

However, she clarified that the supposed implementation was set on May 13.

"We did say that it (rollout of new policy) will follow a staggered implementation starting with 10 percent of the users in the first weeks. We scheduled it to start on May 13. However, upon the request of the LTFRB yesterday, we are pausing the implementation plans until official guidelines are issued," she explained.