From just a simple app in 2012 that helps you book a taxi quicker and easier, GrabTaxi has gone on to expand its services to include private car and bike hire drivers via GrabCar and GrabBike (not for the Singapore market). Last Thursday, GrabTaxi was officially rebranded as Grab – an overarching umbrella that houses all its services in one app.
Here are five new things about Grab that you might want to know:
1) It is now known as Grab
The app was called GrabTaxi and GrabCar was housed within the GrabTaxi app, but to prevent any confusion, it is now known as Grab. With a logo redesign, Grab has a new visual identity with dual lines in its logo that represents roadways and an endless road of possibilities.
The new Grab will have all its services within one app – GrabTaxi, GrabCar, GrabBike (motorcycle taxis – not for Singapore), GrabHitch (carpooling) and GrabExpress (last mile delivery).
2) It has automated retries
If you can’t get a vehicle on your first attempt, the new auto-retry feature will automatically help you try again without needing you to manually go through the booking process one more time.
3) It has a shorter booking process
When you launch the app, your pick-up point is already pre-filled. Your favourite locations will also be saved and ranked by the day, time and physical location, so your pick-up and drop-off personalised location points will be filled for you, enabling you to book a ride in just two clicks.
Flash is another new feature that will help you search for both taxis and private cars nearest to you. Once you get a ride, you can track your vehicle with real-time driver tracking on the map so you have a better estimated time of arrival.
4) It has gone cashless
Forgot to bring cash? Didn’t have time to draw money? There is now GrabPay, an online credit card system where you will receive fare confirmations via the app and an email receipt. You can still pay with cash if you want to, but you can also choose between multiple credit cards. With this multiple credit card support, you can choose to use a corporate card to pay for work-related rides.
5) It enables you to track your business rides separately
To make it easier for your claims from the office, there is GrabWork which allows you to tag your business rides. Within the app, you can get the expense code and trip details so that you can track the expenses more conveniently. You can go to Grab Passenger Hub to download the consolidated business or personal statements of the rides that you tagged and simply submit it for your claims.
The Grab app is free to download in Google Play and Apply App Store. Existing GrabTaxi and MyTeksi users will automatically have their apps updated from 28 January if auto update is enabled.
