Grab Responds to TikTok Video Claiming ‘Saved Locations’ Have Higher Fares

Did you save your work and home addresses in the Grab app?

Well, this small convenience of not needing to type them out is allegedly causing you to pay more, according to a TikTok video.

Keying Address Manually Resulted in Cheaper Fares

Grab, like many other ride-hailing apps, allow users to save addresses under tags like “Home” and “Work” so that we don’t have to keep keying them in.

A TikTok video from @mozzarellapapi on 27 July cited one case where a girl saved $5 after manually keying in her work address, instead of using the saved address under “Work”.

The TikTok user then tried it out by keying in the address 28 Ann Siang Road, which gave him a $16.80 fare. This is $7 cheaper than when he saved 27 Ann Siang Road as his “Work” location, which gave him a $23.80 fare.

However, he did write that he’s sure there’s a technical explanation for why this happens. But if checking the fares for nearby roads can save you $7, it doesn’t hurt to try.

After watching this TikTok, many have commented that they also noticed a fare difference when they manually typed out the addresses of their saved locations. It should also be noted that quite a number of people also said that this method didn’t work for them, though.

As of writing, that TikTok has garnered 17,200 likes and 4181 shares.

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Grab Responds: It’s All About the Algorithm

Grab responded to the TikTok, telling The Straits Times that their algorithm uses Geohash. It is a global standard for maps that splits places into very small zones.

This means that 27 Ann Siang Road and 28 Ann Siang Road, which are literally right next to each other, could be located in different zones. This would lead to differences when the algorithm calculates the supply and demand of these zones, and thus lead to fare differences.

“Our system has largely been keeping the variance in fares small for pick-up points that are very near to each other. We will continue to keep working on ways to do so.”

So yes, it is all about the algorithm. Next time that you book a Grab, try checking the fares for nearby locations too.

Who knows, the algorithm might be in your favour and save you a few bucks.

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Featured Image: TikTok (@mozzarellapapi)