Grab cancellation fee implementation deferred
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has delayed the implementation next week of the R50 cancellation fee of the ridesharing firm Grab.
LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III said on Thursday the decision to suspend the imposition of cancellation fees came after they met with representatives of Grab and other transport network companies (TNCs) earlier this week.
"Sa ngayon pinag-aaralan pa. In fact, we called for a meeting last Monday, not only with Grab but with all the other accredited TNCs and we discussed about the cancellation fee," Delgra said.
According to Delgra, it turned out during the meeting that other TNCs have their own cancellation policies that have yet to be implemented.
"It [cancellation fee] is not part of the fare structure but would fall under 'other charges' which the Board regulates," he said.
With this, the LTFRB chairman said the board decided to halt Grab's imposition of cancellation fee on its passengers as discussions on the plans are now ongoing through the creation of a technical working group (TWG).
"That meeting was attended by the Board, so we decided, at that time, it was the consensus of the group, for Grab not to implement [its cancellation fee]," Delgra said.
"We just have to address it as a whole, not only for Grab but for all the rest [of the TNCs]," he added.
The TWG chaired by board member Antonio Gardiola Jr., includes several TNC representatives that will discuss passenger and driver cancellation policies.
Nicka Hosaka, Grab public affairs manager, said the firm and the other TNCs agreed to keep the status quo while discussions are ongoing.
"Grab and the other TNCs agreed to maintain the status quo as requested by the Board, until appropriate guidelines are issued by the LTFRB with the assistance of the TWG," Hosaka said in a statement.
The ride-hailing company also clarified that no cancellation fees has been charged or collected following their announcement of the policy last month.
In its new ride policy announced on April, Grab said penalties and fines will be charged to both drivers and passengers to curb unreasonable cancellations.
"Our intention in implementing this new policy is to create a better ride-hailing ecosystem, where both passengers and drivers practice the responsible use of the Grab platform," Grab Philippines President Brian Cu said.