Grab Goes Green With Its New Fleet of Electric Taxis
Ride-hailing platform Grab Philippines now offers users the option to book electric taxis as it seeks to go beyond conventional fuel-based vehicles.
Grab Philippines said these fully electric taxi services are being offered in collaboration with local operation EV Tax Corp. and are available in key transportation and business hubs such as Makati, Taguig, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, and Pasay.
“This is not just about offering another ride option,” Grab Philippines Country Head Ronald Roda said in a statement. “It’s about fundamentally changing the DNA of urban transport in the Philippines; one that aligns with our sustainability commitments, empowers Filipino commuters, and creates meaningful green livelihoods."
He stressed that sustainability and options that provide this should not stay a “distant ideal” and should be made readily available to the public.
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The feature, which is called GrabTaxi Electric and is in beta, aims to further the platform’s ecomobility strategy, which entails the expansion of electric vehicle technology adoption across its GrabCar fleet in regional cities such as Davao and Cagayan De Oro by the end of the year.
“As a local operator, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this transformation,” said EV Taxi Corp President Frankie Ang. He described the Grab Philippines tie-up as a campaign that builds on fast-tracking a cleaner more inclusive transport ecosystem for the Philippines.
Commuter and transport groups have welcomed the development as they see it as making zero-emission transport more accessible to the general public.
“GrabTaxi Electric shows us that sustainability can be embedded in everyday systems. We hope this sparks a cascading positive effect across the entire industry.” said Ira Panganiban of the Coalition of Filipino Commuters.
The Need For More State/Policy Support For a Bigger Electric Vehicle Fleet
The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) in February said that the continued growth in the local electric vehicle manufacturing industry and the electrification of public transport would require stronger policy support, citing the 22,637 EV registrations last year.
The Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act mandates that five percent of government vehicles should be EVs. The Philippine government is aiming to have a 10 percent EV fleet share by 2040 in the public transport sector, under the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry.
Under the roadmap, the government is trying to deploy 7,300 EV charging stations by 2028.
“As cities across the Philippines confront the twin challenges of climate change and urban congestion, Grab’s electric fleet initiative signals a bold vision: to future-proof transportation by making clean mobility mainstream,” Grab Philippines said.
