Metro Manila, Philippines – Lawmakers questioned ride-hailing companies for supposedly not reducing commission rates, citing rider concern that companies did not fulfill previous commitments.
House Assistant Majority Leader Brian Poe shared this report at the joint briefing of the House of Representatives on the Middle East crisis on Wednesday, April 15.
“Don’t make commitments here that aren’t true kasi iyon ang inaasahan ng mga riders natin kaya kung pwede, anong commitment mo sa Kongreso, hold up to it [because riders are relying on that. What you said here in Congress, hold up to it.],” Poe told representatives of the transport network vehicle services.
“There’s very few things giving people hope in the country today. What you said the other day gave people hope,” he added.
Poe said ride-hailing companies promised to implement commission fees:
- Angkas, Joyride, MoveIt: 15%
- Grab: 18%
- InDrive: 10%
Representatives from Angkas, Joyride, and MoveIt explained that they are observing a tiered system, where lower commission percentages are provided for those who achieve a certain number of trips.
For example, Joyride carries out the 15 percent commission fee instead of the original 20% for its motorcycle taxi riders who make 13 trips a day, said Jerico Meneses, a company official.
Carlo Castro, head of public affairs for Angkas, affirmed the same system, but with a lower quota at eight rides to avail of the 15 percent rate. He added that zero commission fees may apply should riders reach 25 trips.
“So if we were to balance the interests po ng ating mga bikers, uunahin natin yung talagang sino ba ang mahihirapan, sino ang dapat nating mabigyan ng incentive. Dapat unahin natin ang pangunahing hanapbuhay nila ay yung plataporma,” he said.
[Translation: So if we are going to balance the interests of our bikers, we should prioritize those who will really struggle, and those who should be given more incentives. We should prioritize those whose main livelihood depends on the platform.]
Poe said while he understands the position of companies to incentivize full-time riders, he said it is also important to consider part-timers as the Middle East crisis impacts everybody.
Grab, meanwhile, said it follows a different commission structure – the rate depends “on the difficulty of the job.”
“If it’s a longer trip, then the commission goes as low as 5 percent,” said Booey Bonifacio, Grab chief corporate officer.
InDrive has the lowest commission fee at 10 percent, enough to keep its operations, said VJ Topacio, the company’s policy adviser.
Ride hailing companies said they will review commission policies in response to concerns brought up at the House briefing.
