Grab Philippines announced on Wednesday that it has extended the operating hours of its ride-hailing services until midnight.

“Effective today (Sept. 2) all GrabCar and GrabTaxi services in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Pampanga will operate from 5 a.m. up until 12 midnight,” Grab said in a statement.

It said the new operating hours include GrabCar 2-seater which is paid through GrabPay and Credit/Debit Card and 4-seater (paid through all cashless payments) services within the National Capital Region (NCR).

This, it added, is in addition to the GrabCar 4-seater service from NCR to outside NCR, GrabCar 4-seater from outside NCR to NCR, GrabCar 4-seater outside NCR, and GrabTaxi.

Grab said the extended operating hours would affect GrabCar 2-seater and GrabTaxi services in Cebu and GrabCar (Credit/Debit Card and Grab Pay) and Grab Taxi services in Pampanga.

Grab’s ridesharing services were previously available from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Metro Manila and 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Cebu and Pampanga.

It announced the extended operating hours three days after President Rodrigo Duterte announced the new quarantine classifications in the country.

Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to retain Metro Manila and Bulacan under general community quarantine (GCQ) and place Iligan City under stricter modified enhanced community quarantine from Sept. 1 to 30.

The province of Batangas and the cities of Tacloban and Bacolod were also placed under GCQ while the rest of the country are under modified GCQ amid the country’s fight against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

As of Wednesday, the Department of Health reported 226,440 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 158,610 recoveries and 3,623 deaths. (PNA)