Grab eyes rejoining motorcycle taxi service

FILE: “Tubig ba? Sagot namin kayo! #GrabIgib” (Photo: Brian Cu/Facebook)

MANILA — Ridesharing company Grab Philippines on Tuesday reiterated its interest to rejoin the motorcycle taxi service following the continued pilot testing of the program and the addition of new competitors in the market.

In a statement, Grab said the company wanted to revive GrabBike, its motorcycle taxi service that was once active in the country but was discontinued in mid-2016 to comply with government regulations.

“As the government is seriously looking into a possible regulation for motorcycle taxis, Grab is seriously considering to reinvest in the motorcycle taxi denomination and relaunch its GrabBike service,” the statement read.

In a letter dated Dec. 9 last year and addressed to Technical Working Group for Motorcycle Taxis Chairman Antonio Gardiola Jr., Grab formally submitted its intention to join the study as “Southeast Asia’s largest and safest bike-ride hailing provider.”

“In 2019, it garnered 2.55 million bike rides, with 1.49 million bike driver-partners all over Southeast Asia. Moreover, it boasts a 99.99 percent safety record which is one of the highest among Southeast Asia,” the letter read.

Under the revised guidelines on the motorcycle taxi pilot study, the number of riders was capped to a total of 30,000 in Metro Manila and 9,000 in Metro Cebu, with each approved competitor allowed to have 10,000 riders each in the former and 3,000 in the latter.

These competitors include one of the country’s pioneers on motorcycle taxis Angkas, and new competitors JoyRide and MoveIt.

With the total riders of Angkas numbering to about 27,000, the company filed and won a temporary restraining order against the measure on Monday, which Angkas said may result in the loss of jobs for 17,000 of its riders if enforced.

Earlier, the technical working group clarified that the cap on riders was set as a mere sampling size for the study and to prevent a monopoly in the motorcycle taxi market.