Commuters, Think Twice Before Cancelling That Grab Ride

(SPOT.ph) We know: There are times when you would rather ride a taxi than book a Grab and risk getting into a fight with the driver over who should cancel the ride. The long-standing issue of having unreasonable ride cancellations is a double-edged sword that affects both the drivers and passengers—which is why Grab is stepping in with new policies in tow.

"Grab is mindful that cancellations are frustrating for both the passengers and our drivers," Grab President Brian Cu said in a statement.

Starting April 29, passengers will have to pay a P50 fee for cancelling a ride five minutes after getting an assigned driver. Not showing at the pickup point within five minutes for GrabCar and three minutes for GrabShare after the driver has arrived will also incur a P50 no-show fee.

Excessive cancellations—meaning two in an hour; three instances in a day; or a total of five per week—might also get your account suspended for 24 hours. 

But we all know cancelling rides are sometimes inevitable. "We are cognizant of the fact that sometimes, cancellations are necessary during special situations," Cu adds.

Taking this into account, Grab has also put in place a system to ensure passengers are not getting the shorter end of the stick. No fees will be charged when a passenger cancels within five minutes of getting an assigned driver; if driver isn't moving towards the pick-up point or is heading to a different direction; if the driver takes 15 minutes longer than the first estimated time of arrival; or if the driver indicates that they've arrived at the pick-up point when they haven't.

Grab will also be refunding wrongly charged fees within 48 hours if you report mistakes through the app's Help Center.

A set of new policies for drivers were also put in place. From now on, drivers whose canceled rides are higher than their completed rides will be penalized. Excessively ignoring and cancellations of booking requests will also lock them out of the platform. Low-rated drivers will also be dealt with accordingly, while high-rated, five-star drivers will be given incentives.