New Taxi fare vs Uber, GrabCar rates: Which is cheaper?

As affirmed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, the fare for the regular and airport taxis plying the streets of Metro Manila now starts at Php 30 with adjusted distance and waiting time charges. With a tight game against TNC companies or Grab and Uber, let’s have a look on how the fares of respective modes of transportation compete with each other.

Rates	Taxi	Airport Taxi	GrabCar	UberX
Flag Down / Base	Php 30	Php 60	Php 30	Php 40
Succeeding Distance	Php 3.50 (per 500m)	Php 4 (per 500m)	Php 12 (per KM)	Php 5.70 (per KM)
Time	Php 3.50 (per 90s waiting)	Php 4 (per 90s waiting)	No charge	Php 2 (per minute)

As you can see from the table above, the base fare regular taxis, GrabCar, and UberX is pretty close to each other. What differs are their charges for distance and time traveled.

For distance, the reasonable charge is from Uber with only Php 5.70/km while everyday taxis place second at Php 7/km (Php3.50 per 500m) while GrabCar requires Php12/km. Uber may be the cheapest for distance but they charge you also Php2/minute of your travel while taxi meters apply the waiting charges of Php3.50 every 90s only when it’s in a complete stop. GrabCar, on the other hand, doesn’t have additional charges.

So, which is cheaper?

It varies per situation. In theory, regular taxis are still the cheapest as long they don’t ask for extra charges a fixed deal for the trip. Uber is ideal when traffic is good while GrabCar is your option if you want peace of mind since it’s a fixed rate and getting stuck in traffic is not a problem. Keep in mind that Uber implements Surge pricing when traffic is really bad in the area while GrabCar has higher fees during rush hours.

The new Taxi rates will be in effect tomorrow, Saturday, March 19th.

Daniel Morial

This article was contributed by Daniel Morial, a film school graduate and technology enthusiast. He's the geeky encyclopedia and salesman among his friends for anything tech.

http://www.yugatech.com

18 Comments

amsfher says:

7 years ago

magkano po fare sa grabtaxi from grace park to airport terminal 3…….
- Reply
elvie san pascual says:

8 years ago

how much po sa grab car from cubao to st peter kawit cavite. thanks
- Reply
JACK says:

9 years ago

Overkill ang surge pricing ng GrabCar. A usual PHP70 taxi ride becomes PHP220 pag primetime. But the thing is, walang shortage ng GrabCars. ANDAMING AVAILABLE WHEN YOU SCAN. They’re just taking advantage of the lack of regular taxis.
- Reply
MondaySucks says:

9 years ago

GrabCar drivers = will always greet you with a smile, can easily be contacted, has well-maintained vehicles, automatically gives you change, decent overall appearance, (sometimes) have magazines and free candy in their ride, and more. Granted there are a very select few who are a**es, majority will still provide excellent service.

Taxi drivers = (are everything GrabCar drivers are not. I’ve fought with so many choosy taxi drivers in the past. Yes, there are decent taxi drivers, but one good driver is JUST one good driver. What about the hundreds that roam the streets?

Let’s face it, if I will pay for my personal transportation I would rather pay a little more for a premium and reliable service than one who doesn’t even care for his customers.
- Reply
C.P. says:

9 years ago

Yeah, until Uber removes the mandatory credit card requirement just to even SIGN UP (not pay for anything; They’ve done it in India already.) I just don’t see the appeal for them. Grab makes more sense.
- Reply
H says:

9 years ago

In theory, regular taxis are cheaper. But how often can you ride a taxi that won’t choose passengers, will use the meter, won’t charge extra and will actually give you the exact change? In practice, other alternatives are cheaper and more convenient as far as Metro Manila is concerned.
- Reply
Easy E says:

9 years ago

R&E ang MGE at yung mga malalakingvtaxi fleet kadalasan naman maayos. Di namimili at walang daya ang mga metro.
- Reply
Easy E says:

9 years ago

Fake Taxi is always welcome lol.
- Reply
Anony Mouse says:

9 years ago

Don’t forget that UberX is more affordable than Uber’s ‘Black Car’ rates.
- Reply

Anony Mouse says:

9 years ago

…which, in turn, is generally cheaper than GrabCar rates.

olamaniga says:

9 years ago

Kahit saan ok lang, wag lang sa Fake Taxi ^^
- Reply

Curious Commuter says:

2 years ago

magkano po ang bayad sa grabcar from sta. barbara place to nangka marikina?

anonymous says:

9 years ago

Grabcar = Safety and Assurance
Taxt = No comment, hihirit pa ng dagdag
- Reply
Pogs says:

9 years ago

Ok lang kahit ano, basta si Daniel Morial ang driver. At sana trapik haha
- Reply
deuts says:

9 years ago

Dapat tinest mo how much actual fare from point A to point B, e.g., NAIA Terminal 3 to Makati (Glorietta) para ma-compare talaga natin kung alin ang mas mura. The other factors to consider depende na un sa pasahero if he’s willing to shell out extra cash for that additional factor/feature.
- Reply
Deo says:

9 years ago

I’d still Uber mainly for convenience, besides sa taxi kung P87 ang bill mo at P100 ang ibibigay mo, kadalasan wala ng sukli eh, so parang parehas kana rin ng binayad kay Uber haha.

Also ang hot mo Daniel, crush na kita <3
- Reply

MondaySucks says:

9 years ago

Agree ako sa sukli. Minsan sila pa magagalit when you ask for change. May experience ako minsan when I asked for my change and sinabihan akong kuripot. Suffice to say bago ako bumaba nagtatalak ako parang nanay ko.

And yes, without a doubt… ang hot ni Daniel.