Grab to cut driver fees, cap deductions at 32pct in Vietnam

HANOI: Vietnam's competition commission said on Thursday that ride-hailing firm Grab had agreed to cut some fees charged to passengers and drivers and compensate drivers affected by excessive deductions.

The announcement follows the government watchdog's preliminary review of complaints from drivers between late August and mid-September about declining fares, commissions and other deductions that they said were hurting earnings.

Grab proposed six measures, including a small reduction in app usage fees charged to drivers and capping the combined fees it collects at no more than 32 per cent of the total amount paid by passengers.

The company will also reimburse about 3.9 billion dong (US$151,869) to drivers after finding about 0.13 per cent of trips since 2024 had deductions above 35 per cent, partly due to algorithm errors or supply-demand fluctuations, the commission said.

The review came after Grab drivers in September urged colleagues via social ​media to boycott the app for two days over falling earnings and opaque pricing and commission policies.

Grab plans to spend about 912 billion dong (US$35.51 million) on driver incentives and operating-cost support and 1.8 trillion dong on passenger promotions in the fourth quarter, the watchdog said.

The watchdog said it would continue monitoring implementation of the measures and could take action if violations were found.--REUTERS