Users of ride-sharing app Grab in the Indonesian cities of Palembang and Lampung will now have to think twice before cancelling a ride order as the Singapore-based company has implemented cancellation fees to compensate for drivers’ inconvenience.
In a press release, Grab says that, starting June 17, it will now charge passengers IDR1K (US$0.07) if they cancel a GrabBike ride order at least five minutes after it was placed and IDR3K for the cancellation of a GrabCar order. Cancellations made within five minutes of getting a driver incur no charge.
The cancellation fees also applies if a GrabBike driver has waited for the passenger for more than five minutes at the designated pick up spot or a GrabCar driver has waited for more than ten minutes.
The cancellation fees will be automatically deducted from users’ OVO credit (the e-payment system partnered with Grab in Indonesia) or their credit cards. Passengers who use neither and pay with cash will see the cancellation fee added to their next ride order.
Passengers are exempt from the cancellation fee if the driver doesn’t arrive at the designated pick up spot five minutes after their estimated arrival time, or if the driver cancels the ride within five minutes (for GrabBike) or 10 minutes (for GrabCar) of arriving at the pick up spot.
Grab says they are “trialing” the new policy in Palembang and Lampung, with the implication being that they will expand it nationwide soon.
Grab, a major ride-hailing player in Southeast Asia, also implemented similar cancellation fee policies in the region this year, namely in their home base of Singapore as well as Malaysia and the Philippines.
