Lower Grab fare expected in February

Ride-hailing service Grab will likely charge cheaper fare in February due to the anticipated decrease in the demand after the holiday season, its president said on Thursday.

Grab Philippines president Brian Cu said an influx of passengers who were booking rides on their app was observed during December in 2019, which prompted the recent surge in their fare.

“With that higher number of people booking the surge went up. If the app sees there is more demand, surge will start kicking in,” he said in an interview on ANC.

“We expect this to drop by February,” he added.

In December, Grab faced fines of P16.15 million—P14.15 million for its deviation from its pricing commitment, and P2 million for exceeding driver cancellations at 7.76%, above the commitment of 5%.

According to Cu, the lack of partner-drivers resulted to this problems in their service. He requested the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to open more slots for the firm.

“We do hope that LTFRB opens up new slots. The root of this situation is the lack of supply. If we don’t have any supply, we can’t get public transport going,” he said. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News