The battle between ride-hailing services Grab and Uber continues, with Grab now looking to roll out a carpooling feature, just months after its rival started a similar service. GrabShare will allow passengers to share a ride with a stranger going in the same direction, for a lower fare.
Sources said the launch could be in the next few weeks. The carpooling option will likely be available to customers using Grab's private-hire GrabCar service. When asked, the firm declined to reveal details about the new product, including the fares it will charge but a Grab spokesman said it is 'constantly experimenting with new point-to-point transport offerings'.
However, Grab drivers, speaking to The Straits Times, said that since last month, the firm has been notifying them about GrabShare via e-mail, and requiring them to undergo training. Private-hire car driver Chase Phang, 39, said, "GrabShare seems like the same product to compete with UberPool." In July, Uber launched a carpooling option for its UberX service called UberPool, which offers customers fares of up to 25 percent less if they share rides.
In the Uber model, users indicate before making a booking if they want to share their rides. Uber then matches passengers headed in the same direction, and notifies drivers via the app if there are other people to pick up along the way. If there are no matches, the passenger takes the ride alone, but he will still pay the UberPool fare, which is quoted upfront, at the time of booking. About one in every three UberX trips in Singapore is car-pooled.
