Wazzup Pilipinas!
Because of the worsened traffic situation in Metro Manila, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has pegged our productivity loss to P2.6 billion every day. Furthermore, JICA said that if we do nothing by 2030, that amount would reach P6 billion a day.
That’s why we need transport solutions.
First there were the app-based car services. The original concept was brilliant; individual car owners would give a ride to those plying the same routes as theirs for a fee. Simply put, it is taking the idea of carpooling and incentivizing it for charging for fare. The result? We get less cars on the road.
But then this concept became an enterprising model. Individual car owners were no longer giving lifts to people, they were operating their cars as cabs, and down the road, they began purchasing fleets. The result? Now we have even more cars on the road.
Experts have said it over and over again, the only solution to this behemoth of a traffic problem is mass transport. But while we wait for the infrastructures and facilities for that, we offer an alternative. An app-based mass transport system we call U-HOP.
Think of the UV express at the terminals near your homes and offices. They are convenient because it is mass transport and it is cheap. Now take that service and make it app-based, you no longer have to wait for long lines.
COMPANY PROFILE
They are a group of professionals with more than 20 years experience in transportation, business and information technology. They have been researching about a transport solution since 2001 and they have studied the Philippine market thoroughly to bring you a service that’s affordable, efficient and visionary.
They are all Filipinos. This is an all-Filipino corporation that strives to do public good by means of transportation.
U-Hop is a pilot project of Shangrilacars, and they're bringing in their expertise and love for cars to help improve the way Filipinos commute.
They care about your convenience and they care about your safety.
Their team of IT professionals have spent years developing an android and IOS-based app system that is strategically linked to their command center to bring you the most efficient online transport system there is.
Their app is also able to monitor the computer box of each of their vehicles so they can check fuel, door lock, location and speed. If their vehicles are stolen, they can control the computer box to stop the vehicles’ functions.
They have partnered with over 39 banks to make it easy for you to pay for their services.
Their other providers are of no other: Smart Card IT Solutions Singapore and All Cards for their cards, Arum Pay for payment and business processing, Petron for fuel and roadside assistance, Highway Assistance Patrol for roadside assistance, Globe and Avaya for communications, HP for data center and Skycable for video solutions.
They have partnered with over 39 banks to make it easy for you to pay for their services.
Their other providers are of no other: Smart Card IT Solutions Singapore and All Cards for their cards, Arum Pay for payment and business processing, Petron for fuel and roadside assistance, Highway Assistance Patrol for roadside assistance, Globe and Avaya for communications, HP for data center and Skycable for video solutions.
HOW IT WORKS
Here’s how the service works: you sign up for the service. You have an option to pay for daily round trips for a week or for a month, or you can pay for unlimited rides for a week or for a month.
You pay for these services using a card that you load up as how you would load up your cellphone. Using the app, you choose your preferred pickup time, place and destination. The app will sort out who among its users will be in the same vehicle and will generate a route so users can be picked up from where they are.
The shuttle will send you a message three times to notify you of its distance to your pickup spot. If you’re late, the shuttle will not wait for you. But U-Hop allows you to rebook the next ride. You are entitled to one (1) free rebooking for a week. If you have bought the monthly service, you are entitled to five (5) rebooking for that month.
Adding to the convenience of an app-based service, the U-Hop Shuttle System has in place a verification process to ensure safety. They screen our partner drivers strictly and through the app, they also verify our passengers.
Because it is a shuttle system, there are pickup times you will have to choose from. But if you prefer the ‘taxi way,’ meaning you have a specific time away from the options, they offer an “On-Demand” service. This is more expensive than the shuttle service, but it is still less expensive than its car services counterparts because they assure no surges in fares. It follows a uniform base fare (P40 for cars and P100 for vans) and a P5.70/km fare flow.
Staying true to their goal of lessening cars on the road and maximizing the concept of car-pooling, they encourage everyone who will opt for the “On-Demand” service to gather a group before booking. You and your neighbors who work in the same area can book one car.
U-Hop is an all-Filipino company ran by people who have over 20 years experience in transportation, business and information technology. They have studied the Philippine market and they are convinced that an app-based mass transport system will help alleviate our traffic problems. Being an all-Filipino company benefits the passengers because they offer cheaper services than foreign companies.
They have had this idea for a while but they wanted to follow the law. On May 2015, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) created the Transport Network Company (TNC) to accommodate app-based services. They have applied for the TNC status and awaiting approval before they can finally roll out our service.
As of August 2015, they have received 900 applicants for operators and 304,000 for members. They have set up four (4) offices in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cavite, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro.
To make sure there is no excess in cars, they do not accept new operators if there are no increase in members. They want to make sure there is a balanced supply and demand.
They are targeting setting up operations in more regions in the Philippines, and in the future, expanding to Southeast Asia and the USA.
U-Hop also envisions a colorum-free road. They encourage colorum operators to instead register with them. They offer a guaranteed minimum payment stipulated in contract. They have fuel and cash incentives and they have a command center that will offer medical, road, fire and police assistance to operators and members.
They are businessmen but they also believe that transportation is a public service. They prioritize service over profit and they take into consideration the bigger picture. They want convenience to their passengers, they want to include the lower and middle class through their cheap service but most importantly, they have a vision: they want less cars on the road.
THE SERVICES
Members can avail the following Services:
Round Trip - P693.00 Weekly
Round Trip - P2,970.00 Monthly
Unli Ride - P1,400 Weekly
Unli Ride - P6,000 Monthly
And choose the following service areas:
Metro Manila
Bulacan
Rizal
Laguna
Metro Cebu
More service areas to open every month!
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
