Ride-hailing monopoly Grab and not its more than 50,000 drivers including those who transitioned from rival Uber should shoulder the refund of P1.8 billion to commuters as a result of its unauthorized PhP 2 per minute additional travel duration charges.”
This according to Quezon City Rep. Winnie Castelo, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development.
“Like commuters, many of the drivers were unaware of the additional charges that Grab has imposed since it took over the operations of Uber which made a virtual monopoly in the transport network vehicle system (TNVS) business,” Castelo said.
Like commuters, many of the drivers were unaware of the additional charges that Grab has imposed.
“Grab is obviously testing the extent of its domination in the TNVS business with its recent actions including a P2 per minute additional charge as travel duration rate,” Castelo added.
“Grab should refund all the estimated PhP 180 billion that it earned from the illegal charges,” Castelo demanded.
The veteran legislator said the refunds could be done through credit vouchers or rebates through the Grab application which can trace which among app owners should be refunded.
The seasoned lawmaker added that riders also complained against Grab’s spike in rates to almost double during rush hours which was not done when Uber was still a competition.
The administration stalwart urged the LTFRB to also be decisive on the infringement of Grab on its authorized rates due to the obvious intent to deceive commuters who have no other alternative but to pay the virtual monopoly of the rate it fixes.
Finally, Castelo reiterated his call for the government to facilitate the entry of competitors to Grab through incentives to provide commuters a choice and an improved TNVS service.
He said the LTFRB should make sure public interest is protected or Congress will be forced to act in ensuring that the agency perform its mandate.