We hope that Grab can say “oops” and “sorry” in all sorts of languages, since it experienced a glitch wherein rides only cost $6 no matter where passengers were going in Singapore. In Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, the app showed problems with their services as well. Some users even said they were able to book rides in the United States for $6.
This happened after 3pm on Thursday, October 25, and has since been resolved.
A glitch in the platform affected how the fares were computed, and for some reason, ended up with a charge of $6 regardless of the destination.
hey, @GrabSG
I happen to know this price is impossible for the Journey I’m about to take so… something’s up with your app, FYI.
I’m not about to shortchange the driver for an app fault! pic.twitter.com/E9iHVsmMoT
— Samantha Choong (@alexa_choong) October 25, 2018
In a statement, the ride-hailing company said, “The issue has been fully resolved and the Grab app is running normally now. We are investigating the cause of the glitch and we apologise to all our customers for the inconvenience caused.”
Grab also thanked drivers who took on passengers despite the low fares, and promised to pay them for the fees lost due to the glitch. Furthermore, drivers’ ratings for acceptance and cancellation would not be affected by the error.
Drivers noticed the problem yesterday afternoon, and started calling the hotline. While some drivers gamely (or perhaps unknowingly) accepted the bookings, others chose not to. Drivers were aware that their acceptance rates affect their qualifications for receiving incentives.
Related: Drivers and passengers say Grab’s new perks not enough to resolve complaints
Other drivers worried when they did not hear from Grab. They were getting an unusually high number of booking requests due to the low prices, but no notification from Grab itself. A number were reported to cancel booked rides.
Why are there so many @GrabSG drivers canceling lately???
— Wahinekiwaho (@AKiwiGalAbroad) October 25, 2018
Grab did its best to assure customers that issues were being addressed
Hi there! The app was down for a while just now. It is now up and running. Do restart the app if the issue persists. So sorry for the little hiccup! Do let us know if you have any questions. Thank you! -Emma
— Grab Singapore (@GrabSG) October 25, 2018
Meanwhile, passengers who availed of discounted rides posted about their good fortune on social media. Some took trips to Pasir Ris from Republic Polytechnic, others from from Tampines to Newton, all costing only $6.
GrabHitch was also similarly affected with all rides costing an even lower price, only $5.
An hour after the problems began, prices remained incorrect. Even GrabShare, Family, and Assitst were also affected. The only service that kept correct fares was the Standard Taxi option.
By early evening, the app was back to charging the correct prices for bookings to different parts of Singapore.
Related: Will added incentives prevent Grab drivers from jumping ship to Go-Jek?