BACOLOD CITY – Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Monday said the city government will conduct a dry run this week on using the Grab ride-hailing platform to book the use of city government vehicles.
“I signed last Sept. 21 an agreement with Grab Philippines for the local government unit (LGU) to use their app (application) for our MABB Cab. All authorized users can use the Grab app and access the fleet of government vehicles. We have a technical group coordinating with them. Supposedly, this week there will be a dry run,” he said in a press briefing.
The partnership came after the city government introduced, earlier this year, the MABB (Mayor Albee B. Benitez) Cab to allow an office of the LGU to book a ride for fieldwork or other official assignments or destinations.
In the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed between Benitez and MyTaxi.PH Inc. (Grab) public affairs director Sherielysse Bonifacio for the “LGU Transport Fleet Digitization Project,” Grab “authorizes the use of its proprietary digital platform to Bacolod City that would facilitate the efficient booking and management of government-employed drivers”.
“This (use of the Grab platform) is free of charge. It does two things. One, we know a lot of people use Grab, so it’s easier for them (city employees), and two, we will have analytics that will tell me where they are going. A third benefit is it would be easier to liquidate payment of gasoline and other expenses because we have a digital copy of their movement and transactions,” the mayor said.
Benitez said the city government will include up to 40 units of vehicles, including 20 new units under procurement, to be pooled for the MABB Cab.
He noted that not all government vehicles are used for official business daily, some even being utilized by a particular office only once to thrice a week.
“In other words, the usage is just minimal that’s why we pooled the vehicles. We will use the Grab app for easy booking,” the mayor said.
Based on the project information, the initiative introduces a user-friendly mobile application and web platform to connect employees with government drivers.
“The cars will be equipped with a smartphone. This innovative approach aims to streamline the booking process, reduce administrative hassles, and optimize the allocation of resources,” it added. (PNA)
