Grab Prices Will Stay the Same, Even During GCQ

You’ve been there before—it’s rush hour, it’s raining, and the only way to get home is through booking a Grab ride. Prices can get steep if several riders are trying to get a car, but it’s safer and comfier compared to your other options.

That was before COVID-19. How much will you have to pay now that transport is limited?

Grab Philippines said its prices will stay the same, and its surge will be capped at 1.5x as it restarts operations under general community quarantine (GCQ). 

Grab Philippines country manager Brian Cu said there were no changes in its rates since operations resumed on June 1, the first day of GCQ.

"What we've done is we've intentionally depressed surge whereas before the surge cap was 2x the fare, we [have decreased this] to 1.5x," he said in an interview on ANC.

If you’re worried about paying more because of surges in price, Cu assured that won’t be the case.

"We did not change the rates, we're still adhering to the LTFRB fare matrix and we've in fact lowered surge from 2x to 1.5x," said Cu.

Before COVID-19, the typical Grab car could transport at least three passengers. However, due to the health guidelines and protocols from the government, Grab had to limit the number of riders per car and drivers must frequently disinfect vehicles to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

According to Cu, there are significantly fewer bookings now. Grab is seeing only 10% of its average before the pandemic and community quarantine.

"Passengers will have to face a bit of difficulty in the coming days for transport but I do think that by Thursday or Friday, things should normalize and booking should be able to come back to normal," he said.