An executive of the super app Grab Philippines vowed to uphold the welfare of their customers but also strike a balance that won’t compromise drivers for its mobility segment Grab Car and Move It, as well as its merchants in Grab Food.

The Grab Philippines officials, in a press conference in Makati City on Monday, were asked how they sanction Grab drivers who deliberately make the waiting time of Grab car customers longer.

“We have a very strict driver quality program. Every time customers report an incident like that, customers get refunds. We take pride in Grab’s customer support. We call our drivers for retraining, and we are not afraid of implementing penalties when needed,” said Grab Philippines director for Mobility EJ dela Vega in a press conference on Monday in Makati City.

“Essentially, the idea of keeping our fleet quality and driver quality high is a continuous and ongoing process. So, we hate to hear when there are these types of experiences, but when these happen, we act on it,” he added.

Christmas season a challenge

Grab Philippines takes the Christmas season as a challenge for its services, especially Grab Car, as traffic worsens, making the booking time for customers longer.

Based on their data, Grab Philippines experiences at least a 19 percent increase in daily transacting users for its ride-hailing services every last quarter of the year, with the number of ride bookings growing by up to 45 percent in the second and third weeks of December.

For its deliveries business, demand rises by 20 percent on key holiday dates, with a recent survey by the brand revealing that 44 percent of Grab Philippines users rely on the app for their festive meal deliveries.

“Our data and studies all lead to a singular insight: Filipinos just wish to be present this Christmas — fully engaged with families and friends as they celebrate the most beloved holiday. Grab aims to bring our kababayans much closer to their loved ones, and help them create special moments this holiday season,” Grab Philippines country head Ronald Roda said.

No easy task

Roda emphasized that being a reliable and accessible platform is no easy task.

“For some, the holiday season lasts two or three months. For Grab, it is a journey that spans over 10 months when you consider all the preparations done leading up to the season. We have been preparing since January of this year — working with our regulators towards a more balanced demand and supply, and launching a series of technologies to provide our consumers with a better holiday experience,” Roda added.

While demand during peak times may inevitably outstrip current supply, the Grab official said they remain optimistic that its service reliability this year will be much improved in comparison to the previous holidays.

Apart from the challenge of demand and supply imbalance, he said they are also looking after the potential impact of holiday-induced traffic congestion on the earnings and productivity of driver-partners.

Historical data of the platform show that drivers, on average, will need to spend 14 percent more time for the same trip distance for most of the December holiday rush.

Fairness of fares

“While we continue to prioritize the accessibility of our services, we are also closely monitoring the fairness of our fares to ensure that our driver-partners can earn sustainably and viably this holiday season. By ensuring this, we hope to encourage more drivers to continue serving our passengers despite the traffic situation, helping maintain service reliability on our platform,” Roda noted.

“The holidays are also crucial for our driver-partners, and we are committed to helping them capitalize on the increased demand to attain sufficient, if not above-par earnings, for themselves and their families,” he further stated.

Grab assures users that fares will stay fair, in line with the regulatory matrix implemented by the LTFRB.

To aid in maintaining the accessibility of its ride-hailing services, Grab has also expanded the coverage of its GrabUnlimited subscription service, which now includes an everyday 8 percent discount on GrabCar rides.