In a move that appears to follow a similar one made by Grab a few months ago, Gojek announced on Monday (Sept 18) that it will reduce its grace period for cancellations as well as impose new waiting fees.
From Sept 26 onward, the grace period for cancellations, which was previously five minutes, will be reduced to four minutes.
Passengers who make their drivers wait at pick-up points will also be charged $3 after the first four minutes, and then another $3 for every five additional minutes thereafter.
The maximum waiting fee is $9, which is equal to 19 minutes of waiting time for drivers.
All Gojek trips (GoCar, GoCar XL and GoCar Premium) are subject to these new fees.
Gojek said that the scheme will ensure that drivers are compensated for their time and effort.
“To avoid any waiting fees, make sure to book only when you’re ready to get going, and be at the pick-up location within four minutes from when your driver has arrived,” the ride-hailing company announced.
Gojek added that drivers may cancel without penalty after four minutes of waiting at pick-up points, and said that passengers may use the app to help them find a new driver at once if their ride is cancelled.
On July 18, Grab started charging passengers S$3 beyond three minutes of waiting for most ride types.
The grace waiting period for JustGrab, GrabPet, GrabFamily, GrabCar, GrabCar Plus and GrabCar Premium is three minutes, with a S$3 charge per five-minute waiting block.
The grace waiting period for GrabCoach is 10 minutes, with a S$10 charge per 10-minute waiting block.
And, similar to when Grab made its announcement, Gojek customers raised a number of issues.
“At times I waited for 15 minutes and the drivers cancels on me. Can you give me a $3 voucher for each cancellation?” commented one netizen.”
Another asked, “How about drivers who accepted the order and subsequently cancel it? Rebates to customer credited?”
“Is it fair for Gojek to chrg us when driver is near location but still in the q process at pick up location?” another netizen asked.
Yet another netizen posed this question: So if the driver late could we had the same amount of refund??”
One netizen, however, suggested a hack that would help passengers avoid the penalties.
/TISG