GrabCar taxis now available at NAIA

MANILA — Travelers finally have the option to grab a ride at the airport using only a mobile application.

On Monday (Mar. 14), transportation network company (TNC) service GrabCar started picking up passengers from the four terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) following its accreditation by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) earlier in the month.

Last year, the MIAA said it was open to allowing TNCs to operate in NAIA as long as the TNCs undergo the same accreditation process to which the MIAA has been subjecting all public utility vehicles at the airport. Grab is the first TNC to be accredited by the MIAA.

According to an online announcement from Grab Philippines, there are designated pick-up locations for Grab passengers in each NAIA terminal, namely, the curbside of the main arrivals area in Terminal 1, the inner arrival curbside between Bays 7 and 8 in Terminal 2, the secondary arrival curbside between Bays 5 and 6 in Terminal 3, and the curbside of Terminal 4.

Grab booths manned by booking agents will also be placed at the designated areas, where those without smartphones or Internet connections can also book a ride with the service.

Under an agreement between the airport management and the TNC, only Grab drivers with confirmed bookings will be allowed to enter the pick-up areas, a recent press statement from the MIAA has shown.

Grab would provide MIAA an online platform, which would allow MIAA to monitor GrabCar vehicles that have been booked from NAIA, the statement read.

“Our partnership with MIAA….will make heading to the next destination more convenient for the 50,000 people who arrive at the NAIA daily, especially after a long flight,” said Wee Tang Yee, country head of Grab Philippines, in the statement.

Not everything is a smooth ride, however, for Grab Philippines. In a statement over the weekend, the TNC announced it has temporarily removed motorcycle service GrabBike from its mobile booking application, in line with a cease and desist order issued by the LTFRB in January.

“While we immediately stopped our regular operations when we received the LTFRB’s mandate, our bikers expressed their support to the brand by giving out free rides. We recognize that the free ride campaign may be seen in a negative light and for that, we are sorry. Moving forward, we are temporarily stopping all operations, both regular and free rides, to comply with the LTFRB’s orders and to express our sincerest apologies to the Board,” Grab Philippines said, on its official account on social networking site Facebook.

At the start of the month, a GrabBike driver got caught in a sting operation by the LTFRB in a bid to prove that the service still operated, illegally, despite the cease and desist order.

LTFRB had asked GrabBike to halt services pending government regulations over motorcycle PUVs. After the sting operation, the LTFRB had asked the Grab group to explain why their TNC accreditation shouldn’t be revoked for violating the board’s order.  SFM