In August of 2016, a Facebook post went viral, about a driver who went out of his way to help a passenger in desperate need.
Gerardo Amolato Maquidato Jr was a Grab driver who was commended for picking up a diabetes patient on her way to collect bags of blood for her dialysis. His deed would make the headlines and he would later be known as the “good samaritan” Grab driver.
A year later, on October 26, 2017, Gerardo Amolato Maquidato Jr again made the headlines, unfortunately this time, it was about how he was found dead.
The suspects had booked a ride with Maquidato before shooting and killing him. A witness said he heard gunshots around 7:50 pm and saw the lifeless body of the Grab driver pushed out of his silver Toyota Innova along Bonanza Street in Pasay City. The suspects then took off with Maquidato’s car and are still at large.
Because of Maquidato death, Grab Philippines has implemented a “No ID, No Entry” policy, allowing their driver-partners to ask passengers for personal identification cards before letting them onto their cars.
Kuya Gerardo is just one of the rising number of drivers that are being victimized by passengers who use the ride sharing app to book rides.
For all the conveniences brought about by the entry of Grab and Uber, to commuters, we often forget that there will always be two parties involved in each trip—the driver and passenger—we often hear tales about abusive drivers, but on the other hand there are also passengers who try to take advantage of their drivers.
The implementation of the “No ID No Entry” policy of Grab is but a knee jerk reaction, brought about by the unfortunate incident and is proof that the existing systems of Uber and Grab continuously need to be updated simply because they weren’t really designed for the Filipino riding public.
Enter U-Go the newest player in the in the Transport Network Companies or TNC’s that seeks to further improve the ride-sharing system in the country.
According to Norman Castillo, chairman of U-Go, they are confident that they could better serve not only the riders but also the drivers and operators because unlike the two existing apps, U-GO was built and designed specifically for the Philippine Market.
Here are 7 other reasons why (U-Go) Orange may just be the new black and green:
- Lower system charge—Grab and Uber usually charge a 20 percent system fee to the driver for using the app. U-Go said it will only be charging 10 percent per ride.
- A more reachable and reasonable incentive system: When it first entered the market Grab and Uber gave out almost unbelievable incentives to its drivers prompting a lot of them to quit their jobs or get their own vehicles. Unfortunately when the incentive system changed it the requirements to qualify for incentives became too difficult for the drivers. U-Go said it would be implementing a more attainable incentive system so that drivers wouldn’t be forced to choose passengers or drive even longer hours to reach the quota.
- Fairer Fares: U-Go fare system is based on the regular taxi system and while there will also be surges during rush hours, the company assured it wouldn’t reach unreasonable or astronomical fares.
- On Route Pickups: For part timer partners, the U-Go system can detect whether you are going to work or home and will only assign you passengers that are enroute to your destination.
- Book via Text: Another unique feature of the app is that it allows you to book a ride via SMS so even if you have no data or wifi signal you can still book a ride.
- Scheduled rides: This feature allows you to book for family members and schedule the time of their pickups.
- SOS Alert : Perhaps the most unique feature of U-Go and most important as well is the SOS function. To make sure that both passenger and rider are always safe, there will be an SOS button on the app which passenger or rider can tap to alert nearby police that they are in danger and give the authorities their coordinates.
