Did you think traffic was rough over the course of the 2022 holiday season? If your answer is yes, just imagine how much harder the transport situation was for getting around without a personal vehicle.
Even Grab, which is supposed to be a convenient (albeit more premium) alternative to taking the train, bus, or regular taxi, was unable to meet the surge in demand during this time.
According to Grab, a shortage in driver-partners means its platform is having difficulty meeting demand. During the holidays, the company said that only about 50% of potential passengers were able to book a GrabCar ride. What's more, Grab drivers are now clocking in more hours and driving for majority of the week in an effort to meet demand.
In a statement, Grab’s senior director for operations Ronald Roda assured the Philippine market of the brand’s commitment to improving its services. The executive also apologized to commuters for the platform’s less-than-ideal booking rates during the 2022 holiday season.
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“We deeply empathize with every passenger and driver-partner who was frustrated and inconvenienced during the last holiday season. We do not always get it right, but rest assured that we will do more to make every commuter’s mobility experience much better, and prevent these inconveniences from happening again,” Roda said.
“Improving our state of mobility requires a long-term, whole-of-nation approach–with the government, the transport players, and the transport communities putting differences aside, and working together to serve the interest and welfare of the commuters and the drivers,” he added.
To help address its ongoing driver shortage, Grab is pushing for users to take advantage of its apps’ Multi-Stop Ride and GrabShare services. The former allows two different passengers in the same pick-up location to share one ride to separate destinations. The latter, which is actually a feature being re-introduced to the market, allows users to share rides with other passengers for more affordable fares.
So, how was your Grab experience during the 2022 holiday season? Let us know in the comments.
