From 18 Dec, an Additional $0.30 Platform Fee Will Be Added to All Grab Rides

There’s an audible groan around the country whenever the price of something increases, whether it’s parking charges, bus fares, or electricity tariffs.

To put it mildly, we Singaporeans dislike parting with our money.

To put it less mildly, parting with our money is a fate worse than death.

But if you’re a frequent user of Grab, you should be prepared to do just that quite soon.

From 18 Dec, an Additional $0.30 Platform Fee Will Be Added to All Grab Rides

From 18 Dec, Grab will start charging its customers a platform fee of 30 cents for all Grab rides, with the exception of GrabHitch and GrabResponse.

The fee “will go towards funding initiatives that will make rides better, safer and more secure for you and our driver-partners”, the ride-hailing company said.

According to The Straits Times, the fee is inclusive of goods and services tax.

This comes after the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) lifted a 2018 restriction on Grab’s pricing algorithm and driver commission rate.

Now that the restriction has been lifted, Grab is free to alter its pricing policies and  commission rates.

So, what exactly will the additional fee be used for?

Platform Improvements & Driver Welfare

On its website, Grab explained that two-thirds of the fee will be used to enhance safety and security for passengers, such as fraud prevention, as well as improving productivity, among other things.

The remaining one-third of the fee will go towards initiatives to support drivers, including benefits, training allowances, and the Medisave Match Programme.

“Over the past few years, we’ve invested millions annually in tech improvements and safety features. In 2019 alone, more than 80 features and improvements were rolled out. The implementation of a Platform Fee ensures that we are able to do so sustainably, so your ride experience can continue to be as safe as it is convenient,” Grab said.

You might be shaking your fists at Grab, but this isn’t exactly unique to the ride-hailing company.

Grab noted that many online platforms such as delivery services, ride-hailing companies, and vacation rental sites impose platform fees for the usage of their services.

Gojek, for instance, introduced a platform fee of 70 cents in March.

Grab also previously implemented a 20-cent platform fee for its food delivery service as well.

However, the ride-hailing firm maintained that it would not change its pricing policies for the next six months, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Experts Believe Grab Will Raise Prices in Phase 3

Still, some transport analysts believe Grab will raise its prices once the county shifts to Phase 3 of its safe reopening.

This is because more workers will return to the office, and the number of social gatherings will go up, increasing demand.

Grab’s surge pricing, for instance, may be altered, after being frozen for two years.

And there’s good reason to believe this.

In 2018, the CCCS found that Grab had increased its fares between 10 and 15% after its merger with Uber.

This was because it was the only major ride-hailing player in the game at the time, which forced consumers to cough up the extra dough.

Then again, the CCCS will likely continue to monitor the behaviour of Grab after the six-month period and take action if they engage in unfair practices, as they did in 2018, so Grab might be more reluctant to raise its prices to an unreasonable degree.

As for the Grab and GoJek merger, well, that’s a whole other story.

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