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Grab’s latest product, the GrabHitch carpooling service is now available in Malaysia. Though still in beta, the service now accepts drivers and riders to start riding together, and allows for door-to-door pickup just like a regular GrabCar or taxi ride. GrabHitch promises fares that are half of the usual prices for similar rides, encourages a more environmentally-friendly and efficient use of cars, and provides a chance to make new friends with fellow riders who make regular trips down the same way.
The GrabHitch service went public on 15 May 2016 and serves two core service areas, namely KL City Center and Subang area. Fortunately, Grab encourages users from outside these areas to give the service a try as well, essentially opening up the service to anyone who might be sharing the same route.
Riders can now select the GrabHitch option within the Grab app when requesting a ride, with options for advance booking too for requests that are made between 2 hours and 7 days in the future. There are no limitations to the number of rides one can book in a day, but the availability of drivers going the same path may not be as much as a regular ride-hailing option, as is the nature of the carpooling concept. Riders are not allowed to place more than one booking at a time but the number of fellow passengers can be set according to the number of available seats on that particular ride. Apart from that, riders will also get to opt for a driver of the same gender, while drivers are given the option to choose their occupants. There’s also the option for both sides to check each other out on Facebook by viewing mutual friends but this just dials up the creepiness-levels of an already disturbing social-networking service.
As with Grab’s other services, GrabHitch’s fare is calculated based on the pickup and drop-off locations, and it will be presented to the rider once the ride details have been keyed in. Grab promises that all costs will be shown clearly beforehand and that there will be no other hidden costs added after booking the ride. Even toll fares are to be borne by the driver, as they would have done so anyway if they were commuting alone. Riders will be able to pay via cash, credit, or debits cards, similar to Grab’s other offerings.
The most attractive part about GrabHitch is in its pricing. The service has been designed to halve the usual cost of similar ride-hailing services and it gets comparably cheaper the longer the distance, with prices coming down to just 1/5 of the cost of a comparable product. See comparisons below:
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Moving on to the drivers, PaulTan.org reported that all drivers are carefully vetted before they sign on to provide this service. Interested users who are 18 and above, and have been driving for at least 1 year can apply to become a GrabHitch Driver via the online application form. Finally, to assure the safety of the passengers, Grab will run all drivers through a background check for criminal history, and will verify all driving licenses.
GrabHitch’s carpool-type ride-sharing feature is not something new. Even for Malaysians, the concept has had a regular following as made evident by sites such as Karpool.my and Carpoolworld Malaysia. GrabHitch however has the ability to take the service mainstream, and it is doing so in a way that has become familiar to most city dwellers, by using its Grab app.
Here are the infographics and the FAQ about the service (courtesy of PaulTan.org):
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The post GrabHitch is now in Malaysia ––– brings carpooling to the fore appeared first on TechAttack.my.