Getting around Metro Manila has always meant a mix of options: jeepneys and UV Express, the MRT and LRT, buses down the EDSA Carousel, metered taxis, Grab, and the motorcycle-taxi apps. If you're new to the metro, or you've lived here your whole life and are tired of "boundary lang, ma'am" at the taxi window, here's a practical rundown of what's out there and where Intra Cab fits.
The traditional options
Jeepneys and UV Express are the backbone: cheap, everywhere, fixed to their route. Fine if your trip lines up with one and you're not in a hurry. MRT-3, LRT-1 and LRT-2 are the fastest way along the corridors they cover — EDSA, Taft, Aurora — if you can get on at rush hour. The EDSA Carousel busway does the same job for the length of EDSA.
Tricycles do the last stretch from the main road into the barangay, where they're allowed.
Metered taxis get you door-to-door, but the meter is often a negotiation anyway, and the airport taxis at NAIA have their own rates.
Grab has been the default app for a car since Uber left the Philippines in 2018. It gives you a fixed fare on a screen, with the catch that the fare climbs when it rains or EDSA stops. inDrive and a few others are trying to get a foothold.
Motorcycle taxis — Angkas, JoyRide, Move It and Maxim — are the fastest thing in metro traffic. They operate under the government's motorcycle-taxi pilot, through accredited platforms, with a cap on the number of riders; riding for hire outside those apps is not authorised. For a motorcycle in Metro Manila, Cebu or Cagayan de Oro, those are the apps to use.
Where Intra Cab fits
Intra Cab brings car, motorcycle and bus into one app, with the negotiation already built in: drivers send you a peso price, you pick the one you want, no back-and-forth at the kerb and no surge multiplier.
- Car — the default for most trips: door-to-door, room for luggage or more than one passenger.
- Motorcycle — the option exists in the app, but in the Philippines motorcycle taxis run through the accredited pilot platforms above. Don't expect motorcycle offers on Intra Cab here; use Angkas, JoyRide, Move It or Maxim.
- Bus — for groups travelling together in a van or larger vehicle who don't want to split into separate cars.
A few practical notes for Metro Manila
Cash is still king. Intra Cab is cash-only for now — you pay your driver directly in pesos when the trip ends, the same way you would any metro taxi, just without the negotiation.
Peak times matter. EDSA from 5pm, C5 in the rain, anything heading to or from NAIA around flight banks, Friday payday evenings around the malls — these are where a fixed-fare app climbs and where, on Intra, drivers simply quote what the trip is worth and you decide. If the Skyway makes sense for your trip, the toll is in the driver's quote, not a surprise at the end.
You see your driver before you commit. Once an offer comes in, you see the driver's name, photo, vehicle and rating, and roughly how far out they are.
We've only just opened. Intra Cab arrived in the Philippines in October 2026 and is signing up its first Metro Manila drivers now. For a while, some requests — especially outside Makati, BGC, Ortigas and Quezon City — will get few offers or none. Keep the app installed alongside the one you use today; every driver who joins sees your request.
Getting started
Open the app, set your pickup and destination, choose your vehicle type, and wait for offers from drivers nearby. If nothing comes in, try again later in the day or from a busier area — and if you drive, the other side of the app pays no commission.
Download Intra Cab and see what's available near you.
More for riders in Metro Manila: Taxi in Metro Manila — how Intra Cab works in the metro · Grab vs Intra Cab for riders in Metro Manila