GRAB Malaysia and Food Panda added 30,000 new drivers and riders throughout the movement-control order period between March and May, which shut down most of the economy.

The increase in individuals signing up for e-hailing coincided with the rise in unemployment rate to 5.3% in May from 3.9% in March.

According to the Statistics Department, more than 826,000 individuals were unemployed when the MCO ended on May 12.

Food-delivery company Food Panda saw the number of new riders double between March and July compared with previous months.  

“Between March and July, more than 20,000 new riders joined the Food Panda Rider fleet,” a company spokesman told The Malaysian Insight.

At the same time, Grab signed on 10,000 new drivers and riders, said a spokesman.

Grab said its drivers and riders earned RM2.4 million as tips from customers.

Although the number of drivers and riders increased during the MCO, a survey among them in the Klang Valley and Sarawak found their incomes dropped once Malaysia moved from the MCO to the recovery MCO on June 10.

The RMCO saw the economy reopen and restaurants resume their dining services under strict standard operating procedure.

Food orders declined during the RMCO and riders told The Malaysian Insight that competition for deliveries increased as more people who had been laid off signed on as riders.

Food Panda riders, such as Arif Mohamad from Shah Alam, said he made more than 20 deliveries during the MCO when he joined after being laid off in March.

“I could earn more than RM100 per day during the MCO. But after the RMCO and restaurants opened up, my earnings dropped to between RM80 to RM100. There are also more riders now,” said the 24-year-old former warehouse worker.

Food Panda did not reply to queries on the number of orders and deliveries during the MCO and RMCO.

The company also declined to provide estimates on the average income their riders made during the different phases of the MCO. 

Grab also could not provide estimates on the income earned by its drivers and riders. The company, however, said it saw a 30% surge in deliveries between March and May for its food, mart and express services.

As the MCO forced most workers to stay home, Grab saw a steep plunge in business for its passenger e-hailing services.

“We moved more than 100,000 drivers to support deliveries and to provide them an additional source of income as our transport business was heavily affected, dropping by 90%,” the spokesman said.  

Grab driver Mohamad Azahari Sarman attests to the lean times of the MCO, saying it was hard to make even RM50 per day – the same amount he pays to rent a passenger car from Grab.

“Before the MCO, my net income was on average between RM100 and RM150, minus the petrol and car rental. If I was especially hardworking, I could earn RM200 per day,” said the 44-year-old who has been driving in the Klang Valley for the past two years.

As passengers declined, Grab redirected Azahari to food and goods deliveries, which helped him pay for the car rental and his family’s daily necessities.  

Grab said it had given out RM300 to its drivers and riders from its partner relief fund to assist them with daily household expenses.

The fund was among 11 initiatives the company launched during the MCO to support small businesses, driver- and delivery-partners, front-liners, as well as communities impacted by Covid-19.

Grab said the firm spent US$40 million (RM167.5 million) to fund these initiatives in Malaysia and other relief efforts in Southeast Asia.  

Although the economy has now reopened, drivers such as Azahari said passengers have not returned.

“My earnings are better than during the MCO but not as good as pre-MCO. People are still afraid of Covid-19. I have to look for other sources of income as I can’t depend on just passengers.”

Grab spokesman said it has not yet compiled data on June and July but estimates that demand for certain services, such as passenger e-hailing, will continue to be sluggish.

“With strict SOPs and physical distancing, the demand for transport will likely not return to pre-Covid-19 levels in the short term.” – August 10, 2020.