Story & photos by Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes
HORROR stories in commuting around the city, particularly in riding taxi cabs, have been unnerving than any old urban legend depicted during Halloween.
From blood-stained seats to pervert drivers, rude pricks jacking up fares and kidnapping, as well as cases of rape, robbery and many others—the countless tales have nothing been short of tragic.
Which is why a mobile e-hailing application, called GrabTaxi or now known as Grab, deemed the perfect fit for a hell-raising, traffic-laden city, such as Metro Manila.
Available in six countries, this automated smartphone-based booking and dispatch platform for the taxi industry in Southeast Asia was built to change the game; thus, make more efficient and safer means of transport.
Grab started back in 2011 in Malaysia by Harvard Business School graduates Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling when they incidentally found it hard to get a taxi ride in Kuala Lumpur.
Tan, with his knack for enterprising endeavors, then had this incredible idea of creating an online mobile booking for these modes of transportation.
From then on, the application sold like hot cakes, as it now already actually grew to 75,000 registered taxi drivers in just March last year, complementing to the total of 3.8 million mobile-application users across the region.
The online app gave birth in the country in 2014—establishing local offices in Manila, Cebu and Davao City.
Since its upgrade, one can actually already choose whether to ride via taxi, private car and the like.
With its easy-to-use format, one can actually just do the following:
1. Download the Grab app.
2. Book a cab, and tell them where to pick you up
3. Ride with the feeling of safety.
In fact, 23-year-old model, host and marketing specialist Princess Legaspi can attest to Grab’s proficiency.
“It’s convenient, safe and clean,” she enthusiastically shared, when asked why she prefers it to other means of traveling.
She would normally come from Pasig, where she lives, and go to Makati, Taguig and Pasay for events, photo shoots and castings. Her fares would amount to an average of P200 to P300, a tad higher than usual.
“I don’t find it expensive. Why? Taxis are known for modus operandis, and a lot of my friends and relatives have been victims,” she claimed.
“I’m not really paying for a taxi. I’m paying for my life and my safety.”
With her kind of profession, particularly modeling, she feels more secured on a Grab.
“In my case, I’m always wearing attention-catching outfits because of my job. Also, I usually go home late, because of the unpredictable time for shoots/hosting jobs. Grab makes me feel safer, because I know that each driver’s database is recorded; also, I can send my trip details to my friends and loved ones.”
Driver-friendly, too
Aside from the perks that passengers get while using Grab, the other side of the spectrum, meanwhile, also benefits from it.
“Kuya Marlon,” for one, a taxi driver for 10 years now, said using the online app is definitely more efficient compared to what he was used to before.
“Mas madali ang pagkuha namin ng pasahero ngayon. Plus, additional income din siya,” he conveyed.
As a member of the Elite Drivers of Grab, Kuya Marlon is entitled to an additional P400 per day, as long as he gets 18 passenger rides within 24 hours on weekdays. Not to mention, an additional P50 per passenger on Fridays and weekends.
He also asserted that aside from the efficacy and added salary, it also gives them the sense of safety, since they are also provided the information of their passengers.
“Iwas kami sa holdups, lalo na sa gabi,” he quickly doled out. Pwede rin kasing ma-trace ’yung profile nung pasahero.”
Taxi app of choice
When asked how Grab is compared to other mobile transportation booking of its type, one word came out from Princess’s mouth: “Cheaper”.
As a matter of fact, among the six countries in Southeast Asia that use various related applications, Grab was the only one that has clearly created a positive evolution in the taxi industry.
“It provides an appealing transportation service to tech-savvy cities,” sources said.
In Singapore, in fact, it received the majority votes in an online poll they conducted and was awarded The Taxi App of Choice.
Hence, with this easy-to-use Grab app, this industry continues to improve, as it now not only provides competence but also endows safety from point A to point B—for both its passenger and driver.
Image credits: Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes