The premier transport service in Palawan has recently rolled out a new feature on its app allowing users to order food delivery with just a few taps on their smartphone.
In a press conference held on Friday evening, May 17, at Donsamura Family and KTV, Virgel Dela Puerta, owner of Backride, stated that the well-known transport service in Palawan not only focuses on providing transportation to its customers but now offers new services in which app users will no longer have to travel and order physically to their favourite restaurants or cafés. They can easily order through their app with just a few clicks.
This new service adds a new experience to its users and brings the Backride Palawan app to a game changer in food delivery service in Puerto Princesa.
Dela Puerta recalled the days when he was just starting the Backride and how difficult it was to be on where the transport service is now.
“2020 before pandemic naisipan namin na gawin ‘yung Backride Palawan so nag-start kami for motorcycle transport so, paano siya naging idea?,” Dela Puerta said as he spoke to the media during the presscon.
“Lagi kasi ako sa Manila wayback so ang typical natin na transpo (Transportation) dito is tricycle lang which is ‘yon nga yung currently na nararanasan natin wayback, nakikipag negotiate tayo, nag aabang tayo.”
Dela Puerta further said that when he was in Manila before he felt that the driver was trying to negotiate and get more fare over him because the driver thought that he was a province boy.
“Nung nasa Manila ako sumasakay ako ng taxi…tricycle din so ang problema doon laging nararamdaman doon na parang merong since nine-negotiate kayo ng driver parang feel niyo niloloko kayo eh or parang gusto nila kayo lamangan. Tayo Palaweño tayo eh nasa Manila so feeling ko nararamdaman niya na taga probinsya ako eh,” he added.
“’Yon ‘yung feeling na bakit kaya itong Grab ay hindi natin madala sa Puerto? So ‘yung Grab ‘yung naging ano ko eh…’yung first na nasakyan ko na rider hailing which is ‘yung open sa mobile phones na maa-access mo siya doon,” Dela Puearta mentioned during the presscon.
The Backride owner also recalled the days when he started to launch the application in Puerto Princesa and was faced with several trials.
“So, 8 months tiniis din naming yon nagawa na yung system ni-launch siya maganda pero siyempre nag-comply tayo sa government since bawal until dumating ‘yung November…tinawagan tayo na pupwede nang i-start at ‘yon tinangkilik naman tayo ng mga kapwa natin Palaweño.”
“Pinaparadyo nila kami pinapatawag kami sa Sanggunian [Panlungsod] which is normal ‘yon since tayo is nagi-introduce tayo ng bagong technology dito sa lugar natin,” Dela Puerta shared.
“Umabot na ng 2024 ‘yung pangarap namin na gawin is ‘yung delivery talaga kasi gusto naming na yung ma-offer naming ay hindi lang yung transportation so gusto rin naming maghatid ng mga pangangailangan ng mga Palaweño.”
Edge from competitors
Backride Palawan is not the only company that offers delivery service in the city but Dela Puerta restated that their service will be much faster than those who already serving the Palaweños.
Moreover, he said that their app is not only prioritizing the delivery of foods but as a general item.
“So isa sa magandang features din nito ay hindi siya basta basta tulad lang ng delivery ng iba so general item siya hindi siya food lang. Yung sa mga local online sellers natin pwede niyo ilagay yung mga products niyo sa sytem natin.”
When it comes to the riders, Dela Puerta said that as of the moment they already have 30 delivery riders from their company who are on standby and ready to serve its customers. The operations are also 24/7 to ensure that the customer can order anytime whenever they want to.
Aside from this, Dela Puerta proudly said that those drivers will be assigned to serve and deliver one per customer. This is to reduce the delivery time and mistakes that can occur during the actual delivery.
This means that every customer has one delivery rider assigned to them to get their food or item to wherever restaurant, café, or seller they ordered the food from the app.
Scope of delivery
As of now the coverage of delivery that the riders can reach is from the city’s main town up to Barangay Salvacion (if you are residing in the northern part of the city). If you are residing in the southern part, then the maximum delivery distance that the riders can reach you is from the city’s main town up to Barangay Luzviminda.
However, he said that they have never received such bookings from their customers residing in those mentioned barangays.
Furthermore, Dela Puerta is optimistic that they can expand their scope of bookings for their delivery as many of their app users also reside in the northern and southern parts of Palawan.
He also encouraged the business owners in Palawan to try and franchise their service as it was the first convenient transportation method in Palawan inspired by transportation companies like Grab that servicing the major cities in Manila.
Does my food have insurance too?
Dela Puerta claimed that the riding company has already an insurance partner with an insurance company in the Philippines. He also said that each of their riders and customers has a minimum and maximum insurance that can avail once one of their rides turns into an inadvertent accident or life-threatening situation.
Their internal policy also stated that no charges would be added to the fares of their customers for every booking. But the company also offers custom insurance where the customer can avail much higher coverage than the regular users.
In terms of food, he also claimed that they already have a plan once the food or the items of the customers have been compromised due to the rider’s neglect. He further said that it would be shouldered by the company as long as it was their rider’s fault or failure to deliver the item in good shape.
“Siyempre po ginawaan na rin natin ng planning kung papaano natin gagawin ‘yung services natin ano? So as long po ‘yung responsibility ni rider ‘yung na-compromise kaya nangyare yung certain event na nalaglag yung pagkain. Lahat po ‘yon siyempre shoulder po namin ‘yon,” he further stated.
As of this writing, the delivery service feature on the Backride app is still developing but Dela Puerte assured its vast customers that the feature can be accessed within May.
It also encouraged local business owners to register their products on the app for free.
Backride divides itself from other Palawan transportation providers by focusing on customer satisfaction and innovation. With the introduction of delivery services on its app, Backride continues to redefine the way people experience convenience and quality service.