Grab is set to increase their platform fee from 30 cents to 70 cents, up by 40 cents, in a move that’s being described as being in line and trying to keep up with their competition.
The new increased platform fees will kick in from 5 May onwards.
At the moment, the current platform fee still stands at 30 cents for every trip, including the recently reintroduced GrabShare.
Grab defended their decision to raise their platform fees in an email sent out to customers, saying that the extra fees go towards supporting the development of improvements to their app, as reported by The Straits Times.
Among the improvements to their app include benefits to the drivers, safety features and increased reliability; and the mail also shared some of the ways that they are trying to improve on their shortage of drivers.
The company is trying to solve the shortage of drivers by recruiting them through new joiner and referral program schemes, as well as introducing technology-enabled features such as “Hotspot Navigation”, which will let the drivers see where there are a higher demand for Grab passengers.
The fare priced will then surge lesser once more drivers head to the areas with higher demand for passengers, and the customers can then get their rides faster.
According to Grab’s trial run of the new feature, the results have apparently been rather positive so far.
According to Channel NewsAsia, other ride hailing companies such as Gojek and Tada are also implementing the same platform prices, with Gojek charging a platform fee of 70 cents for each trip, while TADA is charging a platform fee of 55 cents for trips up to $18 followed by 75 cents for trips above that.
Alternatively, there is also Ryde, which charges a 30 cent platform fee; and Comfort DelGro’s taxi booking app which charges no platform fee, $0.00.