Penang Grab drivers say new fare structure puts them on the losing end

Pix by LIM BENG TATT

GEORGE TOWN: A group of Grab drivers says the new fare structure is unfair and hopes the company will consider their plight before making major changes.

“Grab addresses us as their driver partners but they do not protect us," said Grab Drivers Northern Allied chairman Alvin Khoo, 54.

“We are on the losing end with the newly updated fare structure.

“To attract more customers, Grab has decided to lower the price of some rides and many drivers’ incomes have been affected.

“Grab takes a 20% commission on every ride. With lower rider rates, we will earn less.

“We want a stable income and hope the company does not hike or lower the price of rides at its liking,” he said at a demonstration outside the Grab office in Jelutong here on Friday (Jan 20).

He said it now cost only RM20 from Penang International Airport to George Town, a distance of about 17km.

“After deducting the 20% commission, we only earn RM16.

“However, during peak hours, it can cost between RM18 and RM35 in the George Town area for a short distance.

“The (fluctuating) rate is crazy and unfair to both customers and drivers. Grab should charge an average rate," he said.

Khoo said Grab drivers also have to pay for a public service vehicle (PSV) licence and RM500 a year for insurance, as well as compulsory Socso deductions.

“We hope that the government can look into this. We are paying taxes, protect our rights," he added.

A Grab driver, who gave his name only as Ali, said the revised fare structure would reduce drivers' income by 20% to 30%.

“We have our own costs to bear and we understand that the company needs to make money.

“However, we hope it will talk to our representatives before making major decisions for a winning compromise that benefits customers, drivers and the company.

“We still want to work for the company.

“It is easy for us to... remove the app and work with (its) competitors.

“But we don't want to be like that.

“We just hope the company seeks our opinion on how we can help it make more money,” he said.

The Grab office was closed and drivers claimed that they only got the notice of the fare structure after 10pm on Thursday (Jan 19).

Grab Malaysia recently announced changes to its fare and incentive structure which it said was to compensate its drivers for time spent stuck in traffic during peak hours.

The fare per minute has been increased from 20 sen to 43 sen, while the fare per kilometre has been reduced from 70 sen to 25 sen effective Jan 16, in the Klang Valley.

The base and minimum rates remain unchanged at RM2 and RM5 respectively.

The company said in a statement the fares were revised based on feedback from drivers, and to better compensate driver-partners and improve ride supply.

"Over the past year we have observed that traffic jams have increased.

"This increases the cost (in time and fuel) to serve each ride, while reducing the effective capacity of driver-partners to serve more rides.

"To address this, fares have been revised so that they are based more on the time taken to complete the ride and less on the distance travelled... providing fairer compensation, which takes current context into consideration, to our driver-partners.

"It is also part of Grab Malaysia’s current efforts to address the imbalance of demand for rides and the availability of driver-partners during heavy traffic," it said.