THE EXTENDED holiday season in the Philippines is not only legendary for bringing in yuletide cheer much earlier than the rest of the world, but also for causing a flurry of activities, reunions, and events related to the “most wonderful time of the year.”
Of course, attendant to the bustle is the need for mobility; to get people and things from point A to point B, ad infinitum. Amid the chaos, Grab Philippines is again laying out a campaign to address the increase in activities, orders, and travel.
In a recent presser, Grab Philippines, through its country head Ronald Roda, declared it is “ramping up efforts to better manage the balance between supply of vehicles with passenger demand this season, and to also effectively serve the rise of on-demand deliveries.”
Mr. Roda started his talk by sharing Grab’s improved booking rate versus last year. “Nine of 10 passengers are able to book,” he began. “And 99.998% of transport rides are safe.” This, he maintained, can be attributed to the platform’s tech features, along with driver education. All of these will be put to the test this Christmas season, of course. “Holiday reality in the Philippines is different,” conceded the executive. “So we spent the last 10 months preparing for the holidays.” Per Grab, its reliability has steadily been on the uptrend — from 60% in 2022, 80% in 2023, and the aforementioned 90% this year.
Traditionally, the demand uptick over the month of December is about 20% — a figure that can balloon to 50% during the period of Dec. 10 to 20 in particular, Mr. Roda added. As for deliveries, that spike ranges from six percent to 20% — the latter on “key holiday dates.” Based on a brand survey, 44% of Grab Philippines users “rely on the app for their festive meal deliveries.” This year is expected to be no different. “We expect the same, or even worse, and we’ve prepared,” insisted the Grab Philippines head. “But no matter how much supply we have or how much we prepare, the 50% spike is really difficult, and we’re constrained by the number of transportation network vehicle service [TNVS] slots we have.”
Still, Mr. Roda is optimistic that the experience (including ridership) this season is expected to improve versus last year — on the back of the release of new TNVS slots last August by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the onboarding of new driver-partners. Grab Philippines declares it is focusing on the following thrusts: boosting reliability, ensuring safety, promoting accessibility (or affordability), and optimizing holiday earnings for drivers and merchants. The last item is significant in that it helps drive home the point that Grab, after all, is both a service and money-making platform. Mr. Roda and company need to ensure a balance of, well, holiday cheer among users, driver and rider partners, and merchants.
“While we continue to prioritize the accessibility of our services, we are also closely monitoring the fairness of our fares to ensure that our driver-partners can earn sustainably and viably this holiday season. By ensuring this, we hope to encourage more drivers to continue serving our passengers despite the traffic situation, helping maintain service reliability on our platform,” maintained Mr. Roda. Obviously, this season is also crucial for Grab drivers who look to “capitalize on the increased demand to attain sufficient, if not above-par earnings, for themselves and their families.” This will be tricky, given that increased vehicular traffic during this period results in a 14% increase in ride time for the same trip. That might explain a grumpy driver, who is less productive given over his or her usual eight-hour shift. Still, the super-app assures that “fares will stay fair, in line with the regulatory matrix implemented by the LTFRB.”
Grab Philippines is also rolling out a number of features in time for the rush, such as Group Rides, which is perfect for a group of friends or family members going to, or coming from, a common venue — such as a party or reunion place. Leveraging the app’s ability to do carpooling, the function lowers the fare by allowing groups of four to share a ride’s base fare. If you are looking at a more inexpensive ride and you aren’t in a hurry, GrabCar Saver is the trick.
Advance Booking removes the uncertainty of being able to book a Grab to the airport. For a premium, the feature allows a user to schedule a ride to the airport up to seven days in advance. Meanwhile, Multi-Service Type Booking, active for a while now, lets users select multiple mobility service types in a single booking — “enabling the system to distribute demand across various vehicle types.”
“Are we preparing for the outflow and inflow of travelers? A hundred percent yes,” said Grab Philippines Director for Mobility EJ Dela Vega, in response to a question from “Velocity.” “We’re working on how to make the drivers super-efficient.”
For GrabFood orders, the Group Orders feature “enables multiple users to add items to a single order, simplifying the process for groups to enjoy meals together; GrabFood Saver extends “cost-effective delivery options;” GrabUnlimited presents a subscription service “that provides everyday free delivery, exclusive restaurant discounts, and additional perks,” recently expanded to include everyday discounts on GrabCar bookings; and Large Orders deals with the ordering of large quantities of food for parties or gatherings.
These moves and initiatives are hopefully some of the good news we need as the world’s most Christmas-crazy people. Is it still too early to wish you all happy holidays?
