A former Filipino multimedia arts student paved the way to help commuters, especially students, have a more convenient and affordable mode of transportation in their everyday lives by launching his very own car-booking mobile application.
On September 11, Erwin Dee posted on his Facebook account about his self-made mobile application program as an alternative to the current travel applications to promote more affordable fares to its users.
According to Dee, he programmed such an app to help address the growing expenses of Filipinos in the country, particularly for their transportation. In the said post, he disclosed how he observed the sentiments of each individual and that the typical concern will be on high fares.
“I thought, ‘What if gumawa ako ng ride-hailing app? What if may solution para gawing cheaper ulit yung fare?’ May background naman ako sa programming. I also have the resources. All I need is time to make it happen. 9 months of research and development, nandito na ako,” he said.
Dee shared a glimpse of how he made the site up, considering its services and fares for each user.
“Madali lang naman ibaba yung fare kung ako lang ang magdedesisyon. But the question is, paano ibababa yung fare na hindi makaka-affect sa earnings ng drivers? How do we make it sustainable sa side ng drivers? This is the gap that I’m filling in,” he said.
As he introduced his car-booking app, ‘Tara,’ Dee claimed that his app could provide cheaper fares for its customers. “I’m proud to share that Tara’s booking fare is cheaper. And by cheaper, I mean yung standard. It is in accordance with LTFRB’s fare matrix. Strictly no surcharges. Users can save up to 300 pesos, especially for long-distance booking and during rush hour,” Dee said.
He also disclosed that his app will have no commission from its drivers, which will give the full income from the fare to drivers.
“I made this decision mainly because I don’t want them to feel na nagwowork sila under someone. They are independent. Bukod doon, kung iisipin, malaki ang 20% sa total earnings per day. Pwede nila i-spend iyon sa food or gas,” he explained.
With its goal of helping both commuters and drivers, Dee disclosed that a day after his launch, he had already received pending requests on the online group that he made for the demonstration of his app.
The said post from Dee became trending on different social media platforms, garnering positive comments from netizens expressing their excitement for the project presented by the former student.
With this, Dee shared that his self-made app is in its final processing before making it available to the public. Hence, he expressed his utmost gratitude to Filipinos who supported his posted project on addressing commuters’ high fares and drivers’ income.
