What is Grab? Grab Review

Grab (formerly known as Grab Taxi HolDINgs Pte. Ltd.) is a technology company and transportation network company providing services in Southeast Asia. It provides ride-hailing, ride-sharing, food and package delivery, mobile payments and financial services in Singapore and neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

About Grab

Grab is a large-scale shared travel platform in Southeast Asia. It was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Singapore. Its co-founders are Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling. Grab initially cooperated with taxi operators to provide customers with ride-hailing services. It is a mutually beneficial symbiotic model with operators in the traditional system. Later, tuk-tuk and motorcycle ride-hailing services appeared in various parts of Southeast Asia.

Business Area

As of October 2018, Grab has its own business in 232 cities in eight countries in Southeast Asia. The eight countries are: Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Singapore.

use

1. Initially, users must first download the Grab app from app stores such as App store or Google play.

2. Users can register using a mobile phone number, Google account, or Facebook account. It is recommended that you provide your real name, mobile phone number, and email address to register an account. You can use it after registration.

Taxi-hailing process

1. Booking: Enter the pick-up location to get an estimated price.

2. Get a driver: Grab will find the nearest driver for the user.

3. Track the driver: Get real-time information about the driver’s location and estimated time of arrival.

4. Arrive Safely: Share travel details with loved ones for added security.

Billing and Payment Methods

1. Billing: Grab's billing method is different from that of taxis that charge by meter. Generally, taxis use special odometers and the price fluctuates depending on the time in the car, but GrabCar's pricing is directly based on distance (except GrabTaxi and GrabHitch). Users can check the exact price after entering the departure point and destination before calling a car.

2. Payment method: Grab's payment method is called GrabPay, which can be divided into cash, debit card or credit card. Currently, only VISA, MasterCard, American Express and UnionPay are supported. Grab is responsible for calculating the rate and collecting the payment, and the driver is not involved. However, if the passenger chooses to pay the fare in cash, he can pay directly to the driver who takes you to the destination. If the journey passes through a toll station, the toll needs to be added to the fare and paid to the driver at the same time (because Grab is not responsible for the toll).

Development History

-Grab was founded in Malaysia in 2012.

-In August 2013, Grab expanded to the Philippines, and in October of the same year, it expanded to Singapore and Thailand.

-In 2014, Grab moved its corporate headquarters from Malaysia to Singapore.

-In 2014, Grab continued to grow and expanded into Vietnam and Indonesia.

-In April 2014, Grab received a US$10 million Series A investment led by Vertex Venture Holdings.

-In May 2014, Grab received a US$15 million Series B investment led by GGV Capital, with Vertex Venture Holdings and Qunar participating.

-In November 2014, Grab launched its first GrabBike service in Ho Chi Minh City as a trial service.

-In 2015, GrabBike's motorcycle service vehicles have spread across Vietnam and Indonesia.

- In January 2016, GrabTaxi was rebranded to "Grab", which included all the company's products under one roof: GrabCar (private cars), GrabBike (motorcycle taxis), GrabHitch (ride-sharing) and GrabExpress (last-mile delivery).

-On September 20, 2016, Grab announced the completion of its Series F financing and received a strategic investment of US$750 million from SoftBank.

- In October 2016, Grab added an in-app instant messaging feature called “GrabChat” that allows simple communication between riders and drivers. GrabChat can even translate messages if the driver and rider have different set languages.

-In December 2016, Grab launched “GrabShare”, a taxi and car-sharing service.

-On February 7, 2017, Grab provided long-distance bus seats to passengers.

-On March 9, 2017, Grab launched GrabFamily for children below 7 years old.

-In August 2017, Grab received a $2.5 billion Series G funding round. Disclosed investors included SoftBank Group and Didi Chuxing, which invested $2 billion, and the remaining $500 million came from Toyota's Next Technology Fund.

- As of October 26, 2017, Grab has more than 2 million registered drivers and the Grab app has been downloaded to more than 68 million mobile devices; the number of rides has reached 1 billion, with an average of 3.5 million rides per day, all of which are from users in Southeast Asia.

-In March 2018, Grab merged with Uber’s Southeast Asian operations, effectively turning Grab into the only rideshare service in the region.

-In April 2018, Grab launched a new car service, GrabCar Plus, which provides larger vehicles in exchange for a 20% premium.

-On May 28, 2018, Grab launched Grab Food, an online food ordering (takeaway) service.

-In June 2018, Grab released its vision to grow into Southeast Asia’s everyday super app through its open platform strategy and announced the launch of GrabFresh, an on-demand grocery delivery service in Jakarta, Indonesia.

-In October 2018, US travel company Booking Holdings invested $200 million in Grab as part of a strategic partnership between the two companies.

-In January 2019, Grab announced that it will build a new headquarters in the north while expanding its business. It is expected to be ready in the fourth quarter of 2020.

-On February 20, 2019, Grab launched the GrabPet service in Singapore. Under the new service, passengers with pets will be assigned to Grab drivers who have received pet handling training.