Is Advance Booking worth it? It’s a new feature offered by ride-hailing apps that helps users plan rides ahead to save time from waiting around. It’s really good for scenarios where you have to hustle for time-sensitive events like flights abroad.
In theory, this saves us from feeling scatterbrained between packing for flights, preparing documents beforehand, or booking a ride. With this, days where passengers have to flip a coin prior to getting rides are long gone.
But, how good is it though? With pre-booking features in ride-hailing apps like Grab and JoyRide, how does either stand out?
Passengers who benefit from these services need assurance that they’ll arrive at the airport on time. With that, let’s dive right in to see where both apps stand out below!
Table of Contents
Grab’s App Interface and Booking Journey
Starting things off, we’re tackling the app at face value.
As seen above, Grab lets users book from 2 hours to 7 days in advance. It also assures users that their driver will arrive either on time or earlier.
On an important side note, Grab also gives users a fair note. If us passengers cancel within an hour of booking a ride, we’ll be charged the full trip fare. This, I think, is fair for the allocated drivers. And in a bid to further the fairness of every Advance Booking ride, Grab is ready to offer passengers a Php 200 voucher if by any chance their driver arrives late.
The scrolling interface for booking a date and time is also fairly simple, which is appreciated. After setting a date, users will be able to see their upcoming fare.
From experience, my fellow producer was able to book three hours prior to his flight. He only made a single attempt to book, and was able to get his driver’s details (name, car, plate) quickly.
He booked at 6:21 AM, and got an immediate email around 6:22 AM for free personal accident coverage. The driver was also very accommodating and communicative during the process.
While a driver’s energy is much appreciated, users may also opt for a quiet ride. This is for times when we feel more nonverbal than usual. You may also share your location to help the rider find you in your area. Admittedly, these are nice touches from Grab’s end.
One thing to note here is that their extended waiting time is up to 15 minutes after a scheduled pickup time.
But then again, Grab is ahead of expectations. However, we’ll get to that later as we cover the ride experience itself.
Going back, my colleague scheduled a trip for 10:30AM. The driver also reassured him that he can wait until 10:45 AM if there were delays from the passenger’s end.
So now, we move on to the ride experience! Overall, it’s a pretty straightforward feature booking-wise. Grab’s guarantee on drivers attending to your booking is legitimate.
I also have to give a nod to their small considerations for catering to the user experience. The additions of silent rides, location sharing, and the manageable app interface make for a comprehensive experience.
Grab’s Overall Ride Experience
Much to my colleague’s surprise, the driver arrived way earlier than he was supposed to. The booking was set for 10:30 AM, and the ride arrived at 10:05 AM.
Again, Grab informs you beforehand that they can only wait 15 minutes at the set booking time. Since the driver arrived 25 minutes early, he’s pretty much slated to wait 40 minutes at most.
This is a ton of leeway in terms of providing a grace period for passengers, so readers should take note!
The ride itself was relatively nice. My colleague didn’t opt for quiet mode, so he ended up conversing with his driver. He gave him five stars for just checking in to see if he was comfy and all.
To elaborate, the driver communicated well before and during the trip. Aside from checking in, he’d mention it was alright for the passenger to take his time. He would also gently remind them that so long as they arrived with the passenger’s best interest, it was fine.
While my colleague Erl enjoyed the ride and experience, he did take note that the car was small. Of course, Grab also mentions this during booking in the interface.
There is a maximum of three (3) passengers with three (3) pieces of luggage weighing 23 kilograms. This alone gives users a good idea of what to expect prior to booking. Anyway, it doesn’t take anything away from the experience itself.
Since my colleague wasn’t far from the airport either, he expected to arrive in 20 minutes. Pleasantly, they were able to make it to the airport in just 14 minutes.
The driver arrived early, was accommodating during the ride, and even arrived at the destination early. My colleague said that Grab should be a go-to if you’re in a pinch to make it to a flight.
Joyride’s App Interface and Booking Journey
As seen via the JoyRide app, their Super Taxi offers a lot of luxury.
It’s a 5-seater taxi cab with ample trunk space and an in-cabin entertainment system with charging ports. They also inform users that their metered fare has an additional fee for booking.
Further, JoyRide gives users an estimate of their fee instead of a flat rate in comparison to Grab. While it could result in a better fee, most would honestly be sketched out about this.
I also have to mention that clicking this pre-book button on the JoyRide app takes you to a Google Doc file. So, it’s more of how coordinated they can be to communicate to passengers instead of a well-oiled app interface.
To elaborate, instead of staying in the app, JoyRide collects your information via a form prior to booking. From there, a Super Taxi agent reaches out within 24 hours.
Admittedly, it feels like more of a hassle to have to type everything in a form.
Readers should also take note that JoyRide’s Super Taxi pre-booking fees go up between time intervals. It’s PHP 399 from 6:01 AM to 9:59 PM and PHP 499 on top of the base fare from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
The fee can only be paid via GCash, as a QR code will be sent to the user for non-refundable payment.
We tried booking for my colleague at 9:35PM, with an agent reaching out at 8:00 AM. This is 10 hours from when we gave notice that we needed to get a ride at 11:00 AM.
We assume that time constraints affect the agent’s responsiveness, as we expected a response earlier. However, we still got the driver details (name, car, and plate) either way.
The status of the ride was clear, albeit felt automated.
At the very least, our gripes ended there. Once the driver’s details are shared, it becomes a human experience again. He went to check in, reconfirmed the ride, and reminded us of what the Super Taxi offers.
And with that, we move on to the ride experience.
JoyRide’s Overall Ride Experience
The driver arrived at 10:50 AM, 10 minutes before the set booking time of 11:00 AM.
In terms of grace period, JoyRide is a bit vague. The rider just said so long as the passenger responded during the booking it was okay. While most wouldn’t bat an eye at this, it just feels a bit unsure.
For the ride, it was okay. The rider was accommodating, reminding me of their extra features. A ton of charging points and entertainment system felt weird considering I was a single passenger, but appreciated nonetheless.
I rated my driver with five stars because I told him I wasn’t feeling too chatty, and he respected that. He even checked in to see if I wanted to run through a store quickly to buy water or food.
During the trip, I felt like this feature would be better for those in groups. After all, it’s a spacious 5-seater with a ton of ports for convenience. I’d also book this if I had to bring a ton of luggage.
JoyRide’s Super Taxi offers two more seats compared to Grab’s Advance Booking. They also allow four (4) pieces of luggage weighing up to 70 kilograms.
I expected to arrive at my destination within 30 minutes. The driver was able to drop me off in 27 minutes, which is a great rough estimate. However, I understand that traffic and stop lights could definitely affect this result.
Consensus? It was alright. It wasn’t the best, nor was it the worst. While I certainly took note of my driver’s empathy towards me, I also remember the uncertainty for grace periods.
I’d recommend JoyRide’s advance booking for those in groups, as they’d surely make the most out of it.
Final Thoughts
Between the two apps, JoyRide provides a more luxurious riding experience. After all, their Super Taxi provides in-cabin ‘infotainment’, charging ports on-the-go, and more space for both passengers and luggage.
However, they pale in user experience in comparison to Grab. First of all, I’m sure most of us would appreciate a flat fee over an estimate. Secondly, booking in JoyRide could use some polishing.
An estimated fee is alright, but gives users less feelings of control and convenience. There’s also the issue of JoyRide taking you to a Google Forms file for collecting your information.
Grab’s Advance Booking feature stays within the jurisdiction of their app, and offers security and reliability in a neat package. A good addition to this is the in-app communication feature of Grab. This rids users from the hassles of having to shift to other messaging channels and sharing personal mobile numbers.
Let’s not forget about the free coverage for personal accidents.
Grab has a keen perspective on the user experience, providing a simple app interface with value. The app even gives passengers a high level of assurance with their guarantee on booking on-time, even earlier.
But while it still comes down to user preference, both apps provide features that the other can’t.
Grab is best for time-sensitivity, user experience, and reliable booking. Meanwhile, JoyRide has its own strengths with their Super Taxi service falling under luxury and space.
What do you guys think? Would you rather book in Grab or JoyRide?
