GrabTaxi brings convenience and safety to Baguio commuters

I have always considered Baguio City as one of the more commuter-friendly places for tourists and and compared to the taxi drivers we have in Manila,  the taxi drivers in Baguio are generally more courteous and friendly.

So I didn't think GrabTaxi would be setting up operations in the City of Pines anytime soon.

But as it turns out, the local residents were clamoring for even better service-- and the convenience that only GrabTaxi can provide.

And just as fast as you can book a GrabTaxi ride, Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation app , got the approval from the Baguio government allowing taxi franchises to install the Grab system on their units.

GrabTaxi Country Marketing Head, Ms. Khriztina Lim

Even more surprising, was the invitation I got to join Grab Taxi at their formal launch at the Baguio Craft Brewery  last August 5!

Together with GrabTaxi Country Marketing Head, Ms. Khriztina Lim, and media both from Manila and Baguio we witnessed what could be another game changer for the 300,000 plus commuters and almost one million tourists visiting every year.

Baguio becomes the 6th city in the Philippines that GrabTaxi operates in. The app first launched in Manila in 2012 followed by Cebu, Davao City, Iloilo, Bacolod and now Baguio.

“We are committed to provide convenience to every taxi driver and commuter wherever they may be. We bring GrabTaxi to Baguio to be of service to both drivers and passengers. We want to help increase earnings of the drivers while letting the passengers have a more convenient commute,” said GrabTaxi head Poch Ceballos. 

We paid a courtesy call to Mayor Mauricio Domogan at his office in Baguio City

“With the success of the app in other mega cities, we plan to bring the app to more places in the country. Now Baguio people can experience GrabTaxi rides that have always been rooted in our three key pillars of Safety, Certainty and Speed,” said Lim." 

As I discovered during our three-day trip, my impression of Baguio drivers was apparently wrong, as I heard stories of choosy" drivers who refuse to pick up passengers, those who charge extra P50 and even an instance where a passenger jumped out of the car because she was scared of the driver who took a very different route.

With the Grab booking system in place, there would be no reason for drivers to ask extra, or refuse passengers once they accepted the fare. But more importantly, riding a taxi becomes safer with Grab's live tracking feature.

You also get the profile of the driver and get the option to share their whereabouts privately or on social media through the ‘Share My Ride’ function, assuring the passengers of a safe and convenient commuting experience.

The app even saves a history of your Grab rides so you can always contact the driver in case you forgot something in their car.

GRAB 101
GrabTaxi mobile app allows people to virtually hail a cab with just a few taps on their smartphone. Available for free for Android, iOS and Windows phone users, GrabTaxi connects the passengers and the drivers to allow seamless commuting experience.

GrabTaxi passengers just have to type in their place of origin and their destination, and wait for the app to assign a cab for them. When there is already an assigned cab, the passengers will know the location, plate number, estimated time of arrival of the cab, as well as the name and contact number of the driver. These features would allow the passengers to contact the driver for the specifics of the transaction.

To jumpstart the operations in the city of pines, GrabTaxi opened the Baguio and is looking to hire over 50 employees. “Aside from improving the commuting experience of the passengers, this expansion, following the success of the app in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Iloilo, also means creation of more jobs all over the Philippines,” added Ceballos.

For more information, please visit www.grabtaxi.com .