PCC says Grab’s quality of service declined after acquiring Uber

The quality of the services of Grab Philippines has declined after parent company Grab Holdings acquired the Southeast Asian business of rival Uber Technologies, according to a market investigation conducted by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

The commission noted there was no longer any competition in the Philippine market after acquisition deal between Grab and Uber.

“Results of the market investigation, as well as comments from the riding public on the effects of the Transaction submitted to the Office, indicate that the quality of services of Grab has decreased post-Transaction,” the antitrust watchdog said in a statement on Monday.

The commission also released an executive summary of the Statement on Concerns regarding the Grab-Uber acquisition deal and its impact on the Philippine market.

Statement of Concerns by GMA News Online on Scribd

Forced cancellations

Uber Technologies sold its Southeast Asian business to Grab, resulting in an operational merger in the Philippines.

GMA News Online has contacted Grab, but officials of the transport network company were not immediately available to comment on the PCC’s statement.

Among the issues the antitrust watchdog pointed out were the higher incidents of driver cancellations, forced cancellation of rides, and the longer waiting times.

“This is compounded by the loss of a competitor in Uber where trips were less likely to be canceled due to features which mask the destination of a prospective rider until the start of a trip,” the PCC said.

Grab has said it sanctioned some 500 drivers due to complaints of trip cancellations. It also masked the trip destinations, but covered only for 25 percent of the drivers.

The PCC also found that prices of Grab have shot up since the exit of Uber in the Philippine market last month.

“Likewise, the price monitoring and mystery shopper surveys commissioned by the Office both showed an increase in Grab’s prices after the planned exit of Uber on April 16, 2018”said.

“The surveys were conducted before and after April 16, 2018, and gathered information on the actual prices, service, and booking conditions of Grab and its potential competitors,” the commission noted.

The PCC is mandated by the Philippine Competition Act to review all business transactions valued at P2 billion and more to protect competition in the market and prohibit anticompetitive behavior.

The PCC launched a motu proprio review of the Grab-Uber deal and ordered both companies to continue with their respective operations pending the completion of its review.

Uber, however, was available only until April 16 following a contrasting order from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) telling the company to stop its Philippine operations. —VDS, GMA News