SINGAPORE - Following a loud outcry from drivers, ride-hailing firm Grab has rescinded its move to drop a driver incentive programme when a government-backed virus aid package kicks in next month.
A Grab spokesman said Friday (Feb 21): "Grab will continue the Super Steady programme for driver-partners who currently enjoy this benefit."
She added that a tiered rewards programme will continue as well.
The Super Steady programme gives financial rewards to drivers who are more active and have recorded a streak, or at least 200 trips over a number of months.
After the Government announced a $77 million aid package for the point-to-point transport industry - with the Government giving $45 million and taxi and private-hire companies paying for the rest - Grab announced its Special Relief Fund.
On Thursday, Grab said it was handing out $70 a week in government aid to all drivers. Its share, which is around $10 per driver per day, is to be paid out over three months from March.
But instead of direct payouts, it pegged amounts payable to the performance of its drivers.
Grab did this by linking its share of the aid package to the various incentive tiers it already has in place.
To compound matters, it also suspended its current incentive programme, which meant drivers would end up earning less overall, even with the government aid factored in.
The news angered drivers, who took to social media to lambast Grab.
The National Private Hire Vehicles Association also weighed in on the issue, saying drivers should not be worse off after a relief package.
After the association met Grab executives with representatives from the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the ride-hailing firm decided to rescind its first announcement.
Association adviser Ang Hin Kee said: "Our private-hire drivers have already started to feel the brunt of the Covid-19 outbreak, with many of them experiencing a drop in earnings.
"Following our conversation, Grab has agreed to extend the Super Steady Streak scheme until May 2020.
"Operators must look at how they can help drivers to cope with business costs - rental, fuel and commission et cetera, as well as how they can better boost ridership by offering short-term promotions to commuters."
Driver Kelvin Lam, 45, said the issue was that Grab mixed the relief into their incentives.
"Incentives are something you need to work for. The relief package isn't."
The original scheme, he said, was "very different" from "the direct handouts and rental cuts", which taxi companies have rolled out.
With Grab's U-turn, driver Victor Lim, 63, said: "It may be a temporary reprieve. Let's see what happens after May. I may go back to driving a cab.
"I mean, Grab has always had a disclaimer to say it can remove any incentive. We know that. But does it have to do it during this period?"
Another driver, Mr C.T. Cheng, 57, said: "My position is really very simple. They must keep the status quo - keep the incentives as they are. We have to continue to work hard to qualify for the incentives.
"The relief package must be kept separate... it cannot be part of our incentives."
An LTA spokesman said: "We have asked Grab to consider its drivers' feedback carefully, and to review if adjustments need to be made to better support them during this period."
Correction note: An earlier version of the story said Grab was handing out $70 a week in government aid to all drivers and its share is around $20 per driver per day. It should be $10. We are sorry for the error.