A multicab is a small

light truck Light truck or light-duty truck is a US classification for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight up to and a payload capacity up to . Similar goods vehicle classes in the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are termed light ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

that is usually used as

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

. Like

jeepney A jeepney (), or simply a jeep (), is a type of Public transport, public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating ...

s, they usually have fixed routes, although there are multicabs that serve as

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

s to take passengers where they want, as a

motorized tricycle A motorized tricycle, motor trike, or motortrycle is a three-wheeled vehicle based on the same technology as a motorcycle, and powered by an electric motor, motorcycle, scooter or car engine. Classification Depending on the design of the vehic ...

might. Aside from being a mode of mass transportation, it can also be customized for other purposes such as a pickup truck or a private van. Multicabs can be found throughout the Philippines. It can be found in urban areas such as

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

Metro Cebu Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu (; ), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the nearby island of Mactan. It accounts for 19. ...

, and

Metro Davao Metro Davao, officially Metropolitan Davao (; ), is a metropolitan area in Mindanao, Philippines. It includes the cities of Davao City, Davao, Digos, Panabo, Samal, Davao del Norte, Samal and Tagum and spanned parts of all five provinces of the ...

. A multicab is lightweight, narrow and small and can navigate through narrow streets. With seating capacity of around 11 to 13, the passenger space also tends to be cramped relative to a van. There are also multicabs that have a seating capacity less than 11. Small multicabs typically have three-cylinder engines. In

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

, there are plans to convert the multicab engines into rechargeable batteries for

sustainable energy Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the e ...

. A multicab is about as comfortable as a jeepney, and usually has a cleaner and less noisy engine. A group travelling by multicab may hire a multicab for a day (e.g., for family use) and pay the daily fee, while optionally buying food and drink for the driver. A multicab is typically assembled in a factory in the Philippines with surplus parts from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, in contrast to jeepneys, which are usually hand-made. Popular makes are

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

models such as the

Suzuki Carry The is a kei truck produced by the Japanese automaker Suzuki. The microvan version was originally called the Carry van until 1982 when the passenger van versions were renamed as the . In Japan, the Carry and Every are ''kei cars'' but the Suzuk ...

, or more its rugged cousin, the Autozam/Mazda Scrum (locally known as "Suzuki" Scrum, due to interchangeability of parts between these two vehicles). Multicab models sometimes also using

Daihatsu Hijet The , is a cab over microvan and kei truck produced and sold by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu since 1960. The , a passenger-specific version, was introduced in 1981. Despite the similarities between the Hijet name and Toyota's naming scheme ...

and

Mitsubishi Minicab The is a kei truck and microvan, built and sold in Japan by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 1966. In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called Mitsubishi Motors#Japan Sales Channels, Galant Shop. It was also sold by China ...

. File:Suzuki Carry Miniryder multicab (PH).jpg, A

multicab File:Mitsubishi_L300_FB_Exceed_at_Cabanatuan_City.jpg, A Mitsubishi L300 multicab File:Multicabs in Downtown Tacloban.JPG, Multicabs plying in Downtown

, Leyte

References

{{Transportation in the Philippines Public transportation in the Philippines Road transportation in the Philippines Transportation in Luzon Transportation in Mindanao Transportation in the Visayas

See also

References