GrabTaxi, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform, rebrands to Grab today. The new Grab encompasses all the company’s services: taxis (GrabTaxi), private car services (GrabCar), motorcycle taxis (GrabBike), social carpooling (GrabHitch) and last mile delivery (GrabExpress), under one umbrella brand.
GrabTaxi is now Grab --Tan Hooi Ling - Co-Founder, Anthony Tan - Group CEO & Co-Founder and Cheryl Goh - VP of Marketing at the Grab Regional Launch in Singapore.
Since launching in 2012, Grab has evolved from a humble taxi-booking app to Southeast Asia’s largest land transport company, with over 200,000 drivers and over 11 million mobile downloads.
Since mid-2015, the company experienced 35 per cent average monthly growth in GrabCar rides and a 75 per cent average monthly growth in GrabBike rides across the region.
"We've grown over the years – and we're now much more than a taxi app. This new brand is an important evolution that represents our goal to outserve our customers. We are not only providing passengers with a transport service, we are saving them time and ensuring they have a safe ride,” said Anthony Tan, Group CEO and Co-Founder, Grab.
He added, “Grab aims to make transportation accessible to everyone in Southeast Asia. We have set the benchmark in the industry, with the most number of transport services that cater to all price points, all available in one app. We have something for everyone – and are committed to delivering the best possible user experience.”
The new brand represents our growing platform of on-demand services to serve the transport industry as a whole. It underscores our brand promises: To provide the freedom to get to your destination safely and conveniently; the freedom to choose the best transport option for you; the freedom to pursue a rewarding livelihood.
The new logo was designed with freedom at its core. The dual lines are inspired by roadways and they represent the endless road of possibilities. They symbolise the new journey Grab is taking in parallel with its passengers, drivers, employees and society at large.
Grab’s focus on the customer experience has been translated into new app features to make the updated Grab app more user-friendly. The app is designed to be lighter and provide even faster access to ride bookings.
“We are focused on designing the best possible product for our users. We take a hyperlocal approach to understand what users in each Southeast Asian city prefers, from language preferences to payment options,” said Tan Hooi Ling, Co-Founder, Grab. “The updated Grab app is about improving the core experience – we want to make it as simple as two clicks to book a ride.”
● Enhancements to improve user experience
o Personalised locations – faster two-click booking experience
Pick-up and drop-off points will be pre-filled based on your favourite places. Users’ preferred locations will be ranked by the day, time and users’ physical location. This enables most users to book a ride in just two clicks.
o Automated retries – hands-free rebooking
The “auto-retry” feature minimises repeated booking attempts if a passenger does not get a vehicle within the first attempt, without having to manually go through the booking process again.
o Live driver tracking – better estimation of pick-up times
Watch the Grab vehicle make its way to you, with real-time driver tracking on the map. Users can better estimate the arrival time of their driver, and when they should head to the pick-up location.
o Simplified registration process – faster sign-ups for new users
Android users can sign up more quickly for Grab. The app will automatically confirm the user’s identity and mobile phone number, with most users not needing to key in anything – just click to confirm. This will be rolled out to iOS in the near future.
● “Flash” – delivering the power of the Grab network
With the touch of just the one button, Flash searches all of the closest taxis and GrabCars to find the best vehicle for users across both services – meaning passengers will get where they need to go with less waiting.
Flash is available in Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam, and will be rolled out in Malaysia on 30 January and Thailand in February.
● GrabPay – multiple credit card support
Go cashless and zip out of a taxi or GrabCar once arriving at the destination. GrabPay enables passengers to go cashless by using a credit card payment, making the entire commuting experience seamless. Users still retain the freedom to choose between cash or cashless option as and when they like. For peace of mind, users will receive fare confirmations via the app and an email receipt. Users will also be able to use multiple credit cards and easily toggle to choose which to use.
GrabPay is available in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia, and multiple credit card support will be available in Singapore starting 28 January and Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia in February. GrabPay will be rolled out in Thailand and Vietnam in the first half of 2016.
● GrabWork – business-friendly features for working professionals
Expense business rides separately. Business professionals who use Grab for meetings will be thrilled to know that they can now tag their business rides on the go. Other new in-app features include the expense code and trip detail fields for tracking and expense claims purposes.
Passengers can login online to Grab Passenger Hub (hub.grab.co) to download their consolidated business or personal statements for claims submission purposes. With multiple credit card support, users can add a corporate card and easily toggle between personal and corporate payment options.
GrabWork is available in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam starting 28 January. Companies who wish to register for a corporate account with Grab may do so at www.grab.co/business.
The Grab app is available for free in Google Play and Apple App Store for Android and iOS users respectively. Existing GrabTaxi and MyTeksi users will automatically have their apps updated from 28 January if auto update is enabled.
Grab is holding Grab Freedom Day in the capital cities of the six countries it operates in. During this event, over a hundred Grabbers including the management team across the region will spend a day as Grab drivers.
“In order for us to outserve our customers, we need to understand them and what better way than spending an entire day as a driver and for a good cause too,” said Cheryl Goh, VP of Marketing for Grab.
Passengers who book vehicles driven by Grabbers will ride for free, and the value of the ride will be donated to charities across the region.
Grab Freedom Day will be held in Philippines on 29 January, Singapore and Malaysia on 30 January, Vietnam on 2 February, and Indonesia and Thailand on 3 February.
