The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has delayed the supposed implementation of the P50 cancellation fee of ride-sharing firm Grab next week, pending review on the plan.
LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra III said on Thursday that the decision to suspend the imposition of cancellation fees came after their dialogue 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 turns out during the meeting that other TNCs apart from Grab also have their own cancellation policies but they are 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 explained.
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 concensus 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 Gen. Antonio Gardiola Jr. (Ret), includes several TNC representatives to discuss passenger and driver cancellation policies.
Meanwhile, lawyer Nicka Hosaka, Grab public affairs manager, said that they, along with other TNCs, agreed to retain status quo while discussion is 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 giant also clarified that no cancellation fees have yet 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. (Alexandria San Juan)
