Here’s a list of the ridesharing company’s

controversial issues
November 2018

Critically hurt passenger

Grab has incurred fresh ire after a passenger, Marko de Guzman, 20, sustained serious injuries.

De Guzman is in critical condition after an accident in a Grab ride, causing him to sustain
“severe traumatic brain injury.”

A viral Facebook post from Marko’s cousin, Steffi de Guzman, said Marko and his friend, Alia
booked a Grab car last Oct. 26 along Taft Avenue, Manila. She said the Grab ride was allegedly
running too fast and was driven by a sleepy Grab driver.

She then said the Grab car collided into another car before crashing into a Light Rail Transit
(LRT) post. Marko, then sustained a fractured skull after the incident.

With the incident, Grab said they are constantly communicating and offering financial assistance
to Marko’s family. An investigation was also launched as both drivers affected were facing “court
arraignment.”

‘System downtime’

The ride-hailing company also faced technical issues such as the recent glitch on its
computation of fares.

Last Oct. 25, its application experienced a glitch, making the fares decrease to a minimum on all
services regardless of the overall distance of the trip.

GrabCar and GrabShare fares were at P80 pesos while its six-seater services were at P120.

Grab’s system has resumed its normal operations but the company said it will continue to
investigate on the cause of the glitch.

LTFRB penalty

This year, the company also received a P10-million penalty as imposed by the Land
Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for overcharging its customers.

The LTFRB revealed in a document that Grab must reimburse its passengers for the P2-per-
minute travel charge through rebates.

Grab then, filed a motion for reconsideration to reverse the LTFRB decision, claiming the
decision was “contrary to law” as Grab followed the Department of Transportation Order (DO)
2015, which allows ride-hailing firms to set their own fares.

However, after Grab changed their fare structure, a DO was released, DO 17, which states that
transport network companies should have “pre-arranged fare as per the LTFRB.”

Grab explained that the LTFRB failed to establish that DO 2015 “has been impliedly repealed by
any subsequent issuances of DOTr.”

P12-million fine vs Grab merger violations

Aside from the LTFRB, the country’s anti-trust body, Philippine Competition Commission (PCC),
also fined Grab in its merger with Uber for causing “undue difficulties” that prejudiced the review
process of their controversial takeover deal.

Last October, PCC imposed a P12-million fine against Grab after violating pre-merger
conditions such as pricing policies, rider promotions, driver incentives and service quality. Uber
was also fined P4 million for the same set of violations.

Grab then, argued that they complied with the conditions, saying it will file an appeal before the
PCC to reconsider the decision.

‘Doubling rates’

Another controversy hounding the company was a message from a Grab partner-driver that
asked a passenger double his fare.

Automative journalist James Deakin shared on Facebook that he received a message from
Grab, saying they authorized a “x2 fare” for rides reaching outside of Metro Manila.

Grab denied the allegation, saying the message was not endorsed by its company.

Grab Country Head Brian Cu said: “No that’s false. The message is not endorsed by Grab, it
was probably crafted by a partner driver and shared among other drivers.”

‘Unjustified booking cancellations’

Last April, Grab Philippines punished nearly 500 drivers after an internal investigation on
complaints that drivers inexcusably cancel passengers’ ride bookings.
Grab said only 5 percent cancellation rate was allowed. But for those with 10 percent and above
cancellation rate per week may subject to penalties such as suspension and removal from Grab.