PETALING JAYA: Grab Malaysia has denied claims that it failed to reimburse the additional 5% commission imposed on drivers who chose not to immediately opt to auto accept rides.
Countering claims made by Malaysia E-Hailing Drivers Association (MeHDA) that the drivers did not get the refund, Grab Malaysia said they had to refund the drivers in phases because it involved a large sum.
"As we are regulated by the government, it is crucial that we comply with the regulation requirements, while ensuring that we continue to maintain a balance in supply and demand on the platform.
"When the regulation (cap on commission) was first introduced last year, one of the first changes we made was to introduce the 20% commission to all driver-partners who chose to auto accept all their rides.
"For selected driver-partners, almost 20% of them chose to manually accept their rides. Therefore, a fee of 5% was introduced to safeguard and compensate other driver-partners each time a ride was ignored or cancelled.
"That was important to reduce unexpected situations and maintain the balance in supply and demand as we serve the daily commuting needs of everyone, " the statement read.
MehDA president, Daryl Chong had earlier issued a statement, claiming the drivers did not get the refund on Aug 5 as promised.
Grab said following the reimbursement exercise, all drivers were required to auto accept rides, as they were no longer allowed to manually accept rides.
"In the past weeks, we have made efforts to ensure fairness for all driver-partners, improve their driving experience and maintaining the supply-demand balance.
"To date, we have reimbursed the 5% fee to all driver-partners who had previously chose to manually accept jobs through the app post, " he said.
Grab Malaysia also explained that the 5% fee was imposed on those who had earlier opted to manually accept their rides because they need to safeguard and compensate others when rides were ignored or cancelled.
"That was important to reduce unexpected situations and maintain the balance in supply and demand, as we serve the daily commuting needs of everyone.
"We are committed to continue working closely with our driver-partners, so that many more can continue to earn an income via ride-hailing and keep the Grab experience for both drivers and partners as efficient, balanced and as high quality as possible, " it said.
