I HAD the most interesting Grab ride last week.
This is saying something because I’ve had some really bad experiences with some of their drivers. However, this ride last week was perhaps the best ride ever.
With my social life down to zero, I was on my way home right after conducting a basic facilitation workshop. I needed to go the North Bus Terminal to get a bus home. (Side note: taking the bus home to Liloan is perhaps the best travel hack ever and has helped keep my sanity intact.)
I quickly got a car. Looking down on my phone’s screen, I was pleasantly surprised to see the wide smile of an elderly woman looking up at me. This was going to be exciting, I thought.
In a few minutes, my Grab ride arrived. As I stepped into the vehicle, I was greeted with a wide smile and a “hello.” “Traveling light, I see,” M, my Grab driver, lightly teased.
I laughed, immediately at ease and not really worried about the impending travel and traffic (for the first time!). I quickly explained I was just going home and the bus was my typical way of transport.
“Really!? You do that? I didn’t know you could do that,” M said, looking surprised while navigating through traffic easily. Curiously she asked a few questions—were there other passengers who took the buses for the short distance? How much was the fare?
“I’m sure it’s more comfortable than fighting your way with jeepneys!” she quipped, and we both shared a laugh.
M has been a Grab driver since 2016. While to others, driving around may seem to be a painstaking task, for her it’s a good excuse “to get out of the house and think.”
“The road can tell you signs,” she said. Like if there was heavy traffic, try to avoid it. If there was a collision up ahead, avoid it as well. Like in life, try to avoid trouble.
She often takes two trips daily—I was in luck to get a ride with her that day! A proud senior citizen, she admits that being a Grab driver allows her to step out of the house and do something. “You’ll go crazy just sitting around at home all day!” she said.
With her son in Manila, this is what she enjoys: driving around and talking to passengers. As we approached the bus terminal, I asked to be dropped off outside the terminal so we didn’t need to pay for the drop-off fee for cars inside the terminal. She dismissed my offer and proudly waived her Senior Citizen card. “I got this,” M said with a wink.
As we drove into the terminal and the attendant hurried after our car asking for the terminal fee, M lowered her window and flashed her Senior Citizen card. Our terminal fee was waived and she beamed brightly at me. “The card has its perks!”
I laughed and got off the car. She bade me a safe trip and I told her the same. As I watched her drive out of the terminal, I secretly hoped I’d be her one day—a cool elderly lady who likes driving through Cebu’s congested roads and enjoying every minute of it.
Best ride ever.