Grab cuts waiting time and cancellation grace period for bookings from 5 to 3 mins

[ASEAN NOW News]

TODAY file photoThe current "waiting fee" that kicks in after the grace period is S$3 per five-minute block.

 

SINGAPORE — Grab Singapore will be cutting its grace waiting period for ride-hailing services from five minutes to three minutes starting in a week’s time, the company announced on Monday (July 11).

 

Today reported that from July 18 onwards, users will automatically have to pay an additional fee if they keep their assigned driver waiting for more than three minutes, Grab said in a notification sent to its customers and drivers.

 

In addition, Grab is also reducing its cancellation period from five minutes to three minutes for passengers after they accept a booking. They will continue paying a S$4 cancellation fee.

 

This will similarly take effect from next Monday.

 

The current "waiting fee" that kicks in after the grace period is S$3 per five-minute block. Grab did not say if this will change as well.

 

The reduced waiting time will apply to the JustGrab, GrabCar, GrabCar Plus, GrabCar Premium, GrabPet and GrabFamily services.

 

In response to TODAY's queries on the rationale for the change in policy, a Grab spokesperson said the company felt "it is timely" as "94 per cent of our rides already see passengers at their pick-up points within three minutes of their drivers arriving". 

 

"As the country re-opens and more passengers book rides, we want to help our driver-partners capture these new demand trends by spending their time on the roads more productively," it said.

 

"It will also help reduce fuel wastage caused by idling engines, which has become more of a pain point for our driver-partners with the rising cost of fuel." 

 

The spokesperson also said that as part of the change, Grab is refining controls on its backend so that its private-hire drivers can only mark that they have arrived when they are at the pick-up point or close to it. 

 

According to its website, the waiting fee policy has been around since December 2016 "to ensure that our driver partners are properly compensated for the additional time spent waiting for passengers that have exceeded their grace waiting period".

 

Initially, these fees were manually added by Grab drivers when the grace waiting period was exceeded.

Grab said this was "a tedious process" and the firm began automatically calculating and adding these fees to passengers’ fares from January 2020 onwards.

 

These fees go entirely to the drivers.

 

Grab's website also explained when it charges passengers a waiting fee but does not charge its drivers for arriving late.

 

"The estimated time of arrival of the driver is determined based on road conditions at a specific time. However, such conditions may change quickly that cause our drivers to reach you slightly later than the displayed time," it said.

 

Grab’s main rival, Gojek, does not charge waiting fees but passengers must pay a S$4 cancellation fee under certain circumstances.

 

This is if they cancel five minutes after being assigned a ride, cancel as soon as their driver arrives at their pick-up location, or cancel more than five minutes after their driver indicates that he or she has arrived.

 

Another ride-hailing service, Ryde, charges a S$5.30 cancellation fee if a passenger cancels four minutes after booking a ride.

 

Drivers can also charge a waiting time fee of S$5.30 if they wait more than four minutes for a passenger to arrive at the pick-up point. 

 

 

Screen shots of Grab's messages to commuters (left) and drivers on July 11, 2022, informing them of the changes.