Grab unveils commercial carpooling service

SINGAPORE — Ride-hailing platform Grab launched its own commercial carpooling service on Tuesday (Dec 6), about five months after its competitor Uber kicked off its carpooling service on July 1.

Bookings are instant when using this new service, called GrabShare, so commuters need not book in advance as is the case with its other carpooling service, GrabHitch. However, surge pricing — where fares go up temporarily during periods of high demand — applies to GrabShare, which is not the case for GrabHitch.

GrabShare accepts a maximum of two bookings with similar routes, meaning passengers can expect to reach their destinations faster with no more than two stops, the company said. It promises commuters fares that are 30 per cent cheaper than GrabCar Economy fares.

GrabHitch, which started as a social ride-sharing platform, accepts up to four passengers with only one drop-off point, and it has to be booked between 15 minutes and up to seven days in advance to allow the app to match car owners with passengers.

When asked what edge this service has over the competitor’s UberPool, Mr Lim Kell Jay, head of Grab Singapore, said that users of carpooling services sometimes “get matched with more than one passenger so there are multiple stops, or the match is not so good”. “So what we’ve done is to minimise that ... (with GrabShare),” he said.

Frequent Grab user Farrah Chan, 37, an office manager said: “With GrabHitch, the chances of getting a match are higher if I book way in advance, like the night before, if I want a ride at 9am. Sometimes I have to try multiple times, as I cannot get a match immediately. (If I am in a hurry) ... I have a higher chance of getting a ride (with GrabShare).” 

Correction: An earlier version of this article quoted Mr Lim Kell Jay, the head of Grab Singapore, as saying that GrabHitch users sometimes “get matched with more than one passenger so there are multiple stops, or the match is not so good”. This is incorrect. Mr Jay was referring to passengers who use competing carpooling services. We apologise for the error.