The Multicab : A Popular and Versatile Transportation and Commute in Cebu

I do not know how people from other countries call this vehicle but Filipinos, particularly in Cebu call it “Multicab”. Compared to other modes of transportation its affordability and versatility makes it popular among Cebuanos. It is being utilized mostly in small to medium scale businesses. Still, others use it as family service vehicle mostly by the middle class. The components are readily available at surplus spare parts dealers. I have once heard from a cousin that these vehicles usually come in bulk orders as second hand units from Japan and refurbished by local car dealers to sell for a hundred thousand pesos more or less. These are said to have been used in transporting machineries or equipment within factory compounds in Japan.


One of the most common use of multicab in Cebu, as with any other cities and municipalities in the Philippines, is transporting passengers. In other words, it is one of the passenger commuting modes. The fare is the same as with regular Jeepney rides that ply within city and provincial routes. Moreover, it shares some of the Jeepney routes and coding. The only difference is that, of course, it carries lesser number of passengers in its transport.

Passenger multicab being chartered to transport company employees to and from the workplace.

Out of resourcefulness, Filipinos have further reinvented the multicab into a firefighting vehicle mimicking the design of bigger firetrucks. It proved effective getting inside narrow alleys in cramped up housing or squatter areas where bigger firetrucks could not penetrate and firehoses could not reach the blazed residences.

Unassuming the size of a multicab might be it has significantly served Cebuanos’ lives in a number of ways. It has become a growing symbol of the middle class communities' economic struggle and livelihood.