If you are someone like me who doesn’t drive, and always need a decent ride going to an event or party, or you simply just need to impress someone with a luxury car service, GrabTaxi now offesrs new hassle-free private car service with GrabCar.
You might also want to read my review and comparison of Uber and GrabCar
A private car was sent to our home in Manila to take me to the official launch of GrabCar in Vyne, the Fort last week.
GrabCar provides an authorized on-demand private driver for anyone without the hassle of owning a private car. The new service provides new option for passengers while expanding the benefits of GrabTaxi to a new networks of drivers.
As Anthony Tan shared, co-founder of GrabTaxi, “What has ensured Grab Taxi’s success in Philippines has been its ability to adapt and evolve to meet our user’s needs. That;s why we are introducing GrabCar; we see there is an opportunity to fill a gap in the industry without taking away business from our core user-base of taxis.”
This is a not a new car service in Manila, and there is already another private car service which is a franchise from US.
What I love about GrabCar
A drive from Quezon City to Makati expense comparison
- Very, very nice drivers
- Complimentary bottled water 😉
- All drivers underwent background investigation before on-boarding
- GrabCar provides insurance to GrabCar Drivers (I love employers who take care of employees!)
- 24/7 Support which monitors car to ensure safety of passenger and driver
- Drivers get to keep their smartphones which enables them to be more educated about technology and keeps them connected to their family.
- Fixed amount/rate once car is booked!
- Mini Cooper might show up at your door! (GrabCar uses luxury cars to be true with the upmarket personalized experience).
What I don’t like about GrabCar
- Well, it is hard to book a car even if you see available cars in the area. I hate to think that drivers are choosy about locations/destinations. 😀 Keep on reading..
After the event, my friend (Ruth of Mommy Writes) and I decided to try the GrabCar service.
How to Book a Private Car Through GrabCar
1. Download GrabTaxi App in App Store or Google Play and register. If you currently have GrabTaxi installed, you might need to update the app to show the new GrabCar option.
2. Turn on your location settings. You can switch the car service that you wish to book by picking GrabTaxi or GrabCar. I have chosen GrabCar (see the GrabTaxi text below is grayed out). It would show how many available cars are in the area.
3 Type in your destination and click on Next.
The app would automatically calculate the car fare
5. Next screen would show you the amount, and a pop up would show the additional booking fee amount (Php50 for Globe subscribers, Php70 for other networks).
5. The amount might change depending on how close the available cars are in your pick-up point. You can see from the screen below that the app was trying to contact and book a car service for me. My friend was able to book within a few minutes (she lives in Alabang). Unfortunately for me, after 2 attempts to book a private GrabCar service, no car accepted the booking request. Rejection hurts!
I was just glad that with a quick swipe and change of services in the GrabTaxi app, I was able to request and book a taxi on my way home. The GrabTaxi will show the estimated amount of fare, but the driver will use the meter to determine the exact fare (plus Php50 booking fee for Globe subscribers). True to the app estimate, my fare that night was at around Php 220.
It is still a mystery on why I didn’t get the booking for GrabCar that night (it was not even rush hour 10:30 pm, and the service was just recently launched, so I was expecting that not a lot of people would book for GrabCar service). I cannot blame the drivers if they think that driving to Manila is not too safe (calling the government, please do something about safety and security). I was telling my parents that we should move to Quezon City or Mandaluyong soon. I just hope that GrabCar can be more accessible within Metro Manila.
I will update this post once I get a complete transaction from GrabCar. Have you guys tried the GrabCar service?
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If you are reading this post somewhere, it is originally written by Ruth and published in www.ruthdelacruz.com.
