GRAB should consider reducing its commission rate to 15% from 20% in view of slow business during the condition movement control order (CMCO).
Speaking to FocusM, Grab Drivers Malaysia Association president Arif Asyraf Ali said as many people are working from home now due to movement restriction put in place by the government two days ago, earnings of e-hailing drivers have dwindled “quite substantially.”
“When the first movement control order (MCO) was announced in March, our income dropped by up to 20%.
“However, we managed to stay afloat as Grab allowed us to do food and package delivery to supplement our income.
“But with the new work from home guideline from the government, our income is taking a hit again. Our job requests have reduced by nearly 10%,” he said.
Providing some figures, Arif said on average, a Grab driver earns about RM100 a day, excluding commission taken by the company and petrol cost.
“But this does not include car maintenance charges. So you can imagine how a 10% drop in our income affects us,” he said.
Arif said Grab should look into the welfare of its drivers as many of them have been doing e-hailing for years.
“Many of us are loyal to Grab. I understand the management is answerable to its shareholders but I urge them to negotiate this proposal as all of us are going through times.
“If Grab can make this happen, we will be grateful to them,” he said.
Yesterday, Reuters reported Grab as having its third quarter revenue rising to more than 95% of pre-COVID-19 levels.
“Our business recovery continues steadily, with 3Q group revenues climbing to over 95% of pre-COVID-19 levels. Our food business now generates more than 50% of our revenues,” Grab Holdings Inc president Ming Maa was reported saying.
The e-hailing app operator has diversified its portfolio to providing food delivery and insurance.
To date, Grab charges between 25% and 30% to eateries engaged in its services, depending on the order value.
Act against errant e-hailing drivers
On related matter, Arif urged the authorities to clampdown on errant e-hailing drivers who are using dubious apps to penetrate the market.
By using these dubious apps, he said many of this errant e-hailing drivers are stealing away potential customers by providing lower charges.
“For some rides that may cost RM10, the errant drivers charge probably about RM6. So, you can imagine how it affects the market,” he lamented.
On this note, Arif urged the Road Transport Department and the cyber security authorities to clampdown on these errant e-hailing drivers as their services are not monitored by any establishment, unlike Grab.
“We all do our best to comply with both government and Grab’s regulations to provide quality service to our customers.
“But these errant e-hailing drivers provide services without any oversight. The government should throw the book at them,” he added. – Oct 23, 2020
