You can hear the Christmas carols, you can see the holiday decor, and that means the Yuletide rush is inevitable. Grab Philippines is one company that experiences the holiday rush palpably because of its business transporting people and delivering goods. It says it has learned from years past and touts its readiness for the 2024 Christmas season.
According to Grab, it has already been improving its services for the past 10 months. It states that 9 out of 10 passengers were able to book a GrabCar this year, and it has decreased transport and delivery fees year-on-year for two years straight. Maybe most important, Grab says 99.9998% of transport rides are safe.
Last year, Grab says demand for cars in Q4 grew 19% compared to Q1 to Q3, with some days increasing by 45% during the second and third week of December. Deliveries, on the other hand, grew by 6% in Q4—growing to 20% on key dates. And because of gridlock, in December drivers spend 14% more time for the same trip compared to non-holiday months.
To offer better service to Filipinos this holiday season, Grab outlined new features and improvements to its platform. First of which is additional TNVS slots from the LTFRB given last August that will augment its fleet. Grab says it takes three to five months to onboard new driver-partners.
Here are some of the new services available on the app:
Group Ride - A carpool feature that lets a group of four share the ride's base fare.
Advance Booking - For travelers going to the airport, you can book your ride one week in advance—for an additional fee of course. Once booked, a driver and car will be reserved and assigned to you for your ride to the airport. Advance Booking only works with Metro Manila airports as destinations for now.
Trip Monitoring - Introduced early this 2023, this monitors rides closely to identify unplanned stops or prolonged trips.
Family Account - Family admins will be able to book rides for their members, track the rides in real time, receive SOS alerts, and access safety features.
GrabCar Saver - This will offer lower rates for passengers who are willing to endure a longer wait.
Group Orders - By sharing an order link to other Grab users, a group will be able to individually place their respective food requests in one order. There is an option for the host to pay for everything, or the food will be charged to each group member's individual account. The best thing is, there is a discount and it grows the more people are in the group order.
GrabFood Saver - Savings will be offered to those willing to wait longer for their food.
Which of these new services have you tried?
