Forget waiting in traffic—Grab Philippines is gearing up to test package delivery by drone in Metro Manila.
In a recent statement, the super app said it’ll run a pilot between two Megaworld properties to see how unmanned aerial vehicles can speed up drop-offs in crowded areas.
Here’s how it works: Grab riders pick up your order as usual and bring it to a drone landing station. The drone then zips it over to another station nearby, where another rider completes the final leg. It’s a hybrid model designed to cut through gridlock and shave minutes off delivery times.
“This pilot is an opportunity for us to learn and understand how drone deliveries might work in the Philippine context, from dense urban neighborhoods to underserved areas,” said Grab Philippines managing director Ronald Roda in the statement.
The project is backed by a memorandum of understanding between Grab, Megaworld, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology. If all goes well, we could see drone-powered drop-offs in our skies before the year’s out—no traffic jam required.
Drone delivery isn’t new globally. In the U.S., companies like Amazon and Alphabet’s Wing have already begun rolling out drone delivery services for small packages and medical supplies. Amazon Prime Air, for example, is operating in select cities with drones delivering items in 30 minutes or less.
In Australia, Wing has been delivering food, drinks, and medicine in suburbs of Canberra and Logan since 2019. The service became especially popular during the pandemic as residents leaned into contactless delivery options.
Meanwhile, in Rwanda and Ghana, drones have been used on a much larger scale to deliver life-saving medical supplies. Zipline, a logistics company, has been working with local governments to send blood, vaccines, and medicine to remote areas, cutting delivery times from hours to minutes.
In Japan, drone deliveries are being tested in mountainous and rural communities where traditional logistics face natural limitations. Companies like Rakuten are partnering with local governments to test services that could support aging populations with daily essentials.
If these global examples are any indication, the Philippines could be next in line for a tech-powered delivery revolution—sky’s the limit.
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