Grab's new GrabChat feature makes it easier to communicate with your driver
Grab's new GrabChat feature makes it easier to communicate with your driver
Ride-hailing service Grab has launched GrabChat, a new instant messaging service built into its existing app that will let you easily communicate with your driver.
“GrabChat is a simple, yet powerful, feature upgrade. It makes it easier and quicker for passengers and drivers to commence their rides by allowing seamless communication between them without leaving the Grab app or incurring mobile charges. Many drivers rely on calls and text messages before pickups to help locate passengers, share an estimated arrival time and inform them that they have arrived. Furthermore, we’re seeing a steady increase in passengers using Grab beyond their home country and the availability of GrabChat will help drivers without international calling capability communicate with foreign mobile numbers,” said Tan Hooi Ling, Grab Co-Founder.
According to Grab, the GrabChat beta test session saved drivers and passengers 85,000 and 45,000 SMSes respectively in just one week.
In addition, Grab says that drivers and passengers on GrabChat beta are seeing a significant reduction in ride cancellations, compared to users who are not yet on GrabChat, by enabling a more seamless pickup process.
You can type your own message into GrabChat, or to save time, use commonly used template messages such as “I’m here”, “OK” and “I will arrive in 2 minutes”.
By the end of the year, GrabChat will be updated with an auto-translation service for English, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, simplified Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese, to help passengers communicate with drivers even when traveling abroad.
Other updates planned in the future include location & multimedia messages, and further expansion to Grab's other apps, including GrabBike, GrabHitch, GrabExpress and GrabFood.
GrabChat is currently available for GrabCar and GrabTaxi services and will be progressively rolled out this week to Android and iOS users.