'PediGrab' Eyed in Dumaguete City

A foreign company is introducing to Dumagete City a public transportation booking service using a mobile application patterned after the Grab taxi service.

The proposed 'PediGrab' was formally presented to local officials, headed by Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, incoming vice mayor and incumbent Councilor Alan Gel Cordova, who heads the committee on transportation, and other stakeholders at the city session hall here Monday, May 20.

The proposal is a partnership between Piaggo Ape and Grab. The latter is a company that engages in the popular taxi booking service in urban areas, such as Metro Manila and Cebu.

Also on hand to listen to the presentation were barangay officials, officers, and members of associations of tricycle drivers and operations in Dumaguete.

Under the concept, new tricycle units will be complemented with smartphones that would provide the riding public easy access to book specific rides, City Information Officer Dems Rey Demecillo said.

The company's requirement is to have at least 100 units operating in the city.

Remollo told reporters that he and other city officials will discuss the possibility of allowing the company 100 franchises after an inventory of all the 'pedicab' or tricycles for hire in Dumaguete.

The mayor said he believes that the total number of 'pedicabs' plying the city streets is less than 2,500 as other franchises may have already been retired.

Previously, the city government stopped giving franchises to motorcabs-for-hire or 'pedicabs' due to the more than 2,000 units still in operation.

Miguelito L. Jose, senior vice president and group general manager of Autoitalia Philippines Enterprises, Inc., the distributor of Piaggio Apé and Piaggio Porter, made the presentation on the proposed tricycle booking service, Demecillo said.

Meanwhile, Edward Du, former president of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry and director of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry 7 (Central Visayas), welcomed the proposal as they had proposed the concept about two years ago.

He said he had initially asked the Foundation University to develop a mobile application for it but since it was delayed for unknown reasons, he decided to have the name 'PediGrab' patented in his name.

The patent was granted last year to Du, who said he is willing to "share it" with the city and to whoever wants to use it for the benefit of Dumaguete "at no cost."