- Davao delivery partners demand P80 base fare, additional P20 per kilometer
THE UNITED Davao Delivery Riders Association (UDDRA) called on delivery platform companies Grab, FoodPanda, and Maxim to increase the base fare to P80 and the additional per-kilometer fee to P20 amid rising fuel prices.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20, Jeffrey Cuyos, UDDRA president, said the current setup leaves some riders to have a P180 take-home income per day.
“Krisis kaayo atong panahon ron, among panawagan patas-an ang kita-an sa mga platforms Grab, Food Panda, Maxim. Taas ang pamaliton, gasolina pero nganong among kita-an nag steady siya. Among hangyo tagaan mig pagtagad ug sakto nga bayad isisp panarbaho sa ilaha,” he said.
Cuyos said a survey revealed that over five working days, a rider spends 41 hours online, averaging 8.2 hours a day, and gets paid for deliveries spanning 175.51 kilometers.
The rider’s gross earnings from delivery fees, incentives, and tips amount to P3,504, but the work-related expenses, including mobile data and maintenance, total P2,605.
Citing the data, nearly 74.4% of the riders’ earnings went towards the expenses to keep the operations.
End triple, quadruple run
UDDRA also demanded an end to platform schemes such as “triple run” and “quadruple run,” which the riders say have further cut their income and worsened their working conditions.
Triple runs and quadruple runs, commonly known as grouped or batched jobs, refer to a system-automated dispatch model where a single rider handles three or four orders simultaneously in a single trip.
Cuyos said orders are batched automatically based on nearby pickup and drop-off points, and the app dictates the absolute route sequence, and riders must follow the designated steps chronologically.
Instead of receiving flat rates per individual delivery, he said drivers earn a base fare combined with distance adjustments and batch bonuses. However, if a driver cancels a single customer’s order within a triple or quadruple stack, it degrades their overall completion rate.
Eric Cadungog, an association member, said riders complete multiple deliveries and travel longer distances without receiving proportionate compensation for their labor and expenses.
“Pag ma triple run and apat na booking, minsan nalilibre ang pangatlo at pang-apat na customer. Grabe, 4-5 kilometers yung hila sa amin papunta sa restaurant, so parang nalibre na lang yung five kilometers,” Cadungog stressed.
UDDRA cited that a base fare for a single trip ranges from P67 to P70, but with the triple and quadruple run, the single trip is only around P120-P130, which shows they only receive payment for only two runs.
Marife Apostadero, the group’s secretary general, said Grab has no transparency in the computation of delivery fees, as it is automatically computed by the algorithm
She explained that the app displays figures for base earnings and earnings adjustment; however, the base figures differ by distance, and sometimes longer distances are attributed to lower fares.
Apostadero cited that a single run from WS SM Churreros, SM Ecoland, to Mangga Street in Bucana has a distance of 5.19 KM, and the total delivery fee reflected is P116, with a base earning of P99 and an earning adjustment of P17.
But compared to a double run from Eat Fresh, Tulip Drive to Aurora Street, Roxas, and Mang Inasal Ilustre to Matina Aplaya, it has a distance of 6.66, and the total delivery fee reflected is P88, with a base earning of P72 and an earning adjustment of P16.
Social protection, consultation with riders pushed
Niño Prudente, a Grab rider, called for social protection as riders face a high-risk environment with no accident insurance coverage and assistance from the platforms.
He compared that while earnings from a minimum wage earner reach P545 in a day and have complete social coverage, they have none.
“Eight hours nga duty namo, high-risk mi, naa mi sa kalsada, ulan init, gikan sa among expenses halos weekly mag-change oil kay delikado sa overheat among motor kay pirme mag-andar among gipangayo umento sa earnings,” he said.
“Giunsa nila pagkwenta nga ingana ilang gihatag sa amoa, nga high-risk among trabaho sa kalsada,” he stressed.
Rodulf Baylen also recalled an accident where a car driver became the subject of a complaint by a passenger; the company automatically banned the driver without due process.
“Naa man untay due process. Kinahanglan, first offense, second offense, ug third offense, mao na nganong gidretso man og ban, imbestigahan sa unta,” he said.
UDDRA appealed to delivery platform companies for fair and transparent earning computations, including incentives and deductions for the riders to understand how their compensation is calculated.
“Kung partnership man gud, naa untay consultation regarding sa pamasahe, pag-conduct og double run. Wala man gud consultation sa update sa app, diretso ra. Angayan mi nga makadawat og patas nga bahin sa kita nga among gipaningkamotan,” Cuyos stressed.