Looks like there’s another way to get to work in time. Ride sharing firm GrabTaxi unveiled its GrabHitch carpooling service on Wednesday in Singapore, giving cab companies and fellow car sharing firm Uber a run for their money.
Passengers can pre-book a ride seven days in advance and up to 15 minutes before pickup by entering their pickup location and destination into the app. Drivers and passengers will be notified when a successful match of the route is made.
Fares for GrabHitch rides are calculated based on the distance of the ride and is shown upfront. Passengers then decide whether they agree with the price before confirming the booking.
The sharing nature of the service also means that it is likely to be cheaper than the average GrabCar or cab ride.
Unlike services from the likes of Uber and GrabCar, GrabHitch drivers are meant to be average car owners with extra space in their vehicles, and who can carry a few passengers heading the same way to offset the costs of driving.
GrabHitch drivers are, however, subject to carpooling laws in Singapore, which allow no more than two rides a day. Plus, any form of payment made may only go towards variable costs such as car depreciation and fuel.
Payment is thus collected through GrabTaxi’s e-wallet service GrabPay, which drivers can later cash out through the app to their bank accounts.
In Singapore, GrabHitch drivers and passengers will log in to the service through their Facebook accounts. This allows both parties to see each other’s profile and verify whether they share mutual friends. Both parties may also indicate that they only want to travel with someone of the same gender.
GrabHitch drivers must also provide documentation including their driving license, vehicle registration and insurance records. Their record of traffic offences will be scrutinised before they may join the service.
The service is now open for driver signups in Singapore. Those who sign up during this beta phase between 11 and 30 November 2015 will receive exclusive GrabHitch gifts and be eligible for a lucky draw.
GrabHitch is due to be launched to all consumers in Singapore by end-2015.
New services like GrabHitch will certainly help relieve the huge demand for cab-like services during peak periods, an area which has only seen limited improvements despite regulations mandating minimum mileage for cabs.
These innovations do seem to warrant a fairer and more encompassing set of regulations, however. It would be interesting to see how the ongoing government review can account for newfangled services like GrabHitch, while ensuring taxi drivers continue to receive a fair deal and commuter interest is safeguarded.
I just hope any revision does not result in fare increases or the crippling of existing or future urban mobility schemes.
