Grab includes tour packages in car service

RIDE-HAILING app Grab rolled out its Rent feature, which aims to provide tourists with itinerary-based transportation.

As more tourists arrive in Cebu, the feature is expected to help travelers get around its destinations.

“Rent by Grab is an instant booking service offered in the Grab App where users can book a tourist car that has a driver with tour packages, and can take them hourly around the best tourist destinations in Cebu,” Raymond Dejan, Grab Cebu senior city manager, told SunStar Cebu.

In the app, users can choose a four-seater sedan or a 10-seater van at different rates and they can book by the hour.

Booking hours are from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. the next day.

For Rent-a-Sedan, rates can range from P500 to P6,000.

Meanwhile, Rent-aVan, which can carry 10 persons, has a price range of P800 to P8,000. The total fare is computed based on hourly rates.

“For a minimum of one hour and a maximum of 10 hours, you can go anywhere within Cebu City, Mandaue City and Mactan,” Grab said.

Suggested locations include the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, Magellan’s Cross, Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, Fort San Pedro, Taoist Temple, Museo Sugbo and Crown Regency Sky Experience Adventure in Cebu City, Mactan Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City, and 10,000 Roses and Lantaw Floating Restaurant in Cordova.

It also recommended pasalubong centers like

Island Souvenirs, Profood, 7D Mandaue, Taboan market, Shamrock and La Fortuna.

However, cash payment is not yet supported, and processed payments should be made via GrabPay, the app’s own digital wallet.

The app also reiterated the drivers will only bring passengers to the locations indicated in the package availed of, and will not act as a tour guide.

For packaged tours, an overtime charge will also be automatically added to the total fare once the booking exceeds packaged hours.

The service is still regulated by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

According to the Department of Tourism 7, Cebu City welcomed 2.5 million visitors, Lapu-Lapu City had 1.7 million and Mandaue City had 205,795 in 2018.