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GrabTaxi Hopes To Get You On Board Their New Premium Limo Service

By Janelle Li - on 8 Jul 2014, 1:33pm

Grab a Limousine with a Few Taps on Your Smartphone with the new GrabCar Service

Having someone to chauffeur you around is now just an app away. Popular taxi booking service GrabTaxi has launched GrabCar in Singapore, where you can book a limousine conveniently through your smartphone. This service is already available in two other cities: Kuala Lumpur and Manila. Existing GrabTaxi users will not need to download a new app as the GrabCar service is baked into the existing one, so you can easily choose between the different services.

Other than the usual taxi booking options of Standard Taxi and Limo Taxi, there are now three more available: GrabCar, GrabCar (6-seater) and GrabCar (13-seater), which you can choose depending on whether you just want a more comfortable ride to the airport or out partying with a large group of friends. Or, as CEO and Founder of GrabTaxi Anthony Tan suggested during the launch event, you can also hire a limousine to impress your other half on a date.

Anthony Tan, CEO and Founder of GrabTaxi, hopes that the GrabCar premium vehicle hire service will convince you to "say goodbye to carparks" and "leave the driving to them".

GrabCar collaborates with licensed limo service partners and emphasizes on "legal supply", and drivers must fulfill the following criteria: possess a valid driving license, have more than 3 years of driving experience with a good record, adhere to "acceptable" grooming standards, and have a good command of English and Mandarin.

It works exactly like GrabTaxi -- choose your pick up location, your destination, and the type of car you need, and the app will contact nearby drivers and give you his/her details within one minute. You can also track the driver's whereabouts in real-time on the built-in app.

One of the main selling points of the app is that users will be shown the exact fare they will be paying before hopping onto the vehicle. Standard fares are at S$50 for a 4-seater, S$55 for a 6-seater and S$65 for a 13-seater, with a lower tier of fares available for "short transfers", or destinations that are less than 4km away. A S$10 midnight surcharge is applicable for rides between 12am and 6am. Kell Jay Lim, General Manager of GrabTaxi Singapore, says that the fares are based on per ride and stresses that fares are fixed once confirmed through the app, "regardless of ERP, peak hours or traffic jam".

General Manager of GrabTaxi Singapore, Kell Jay Lim, once received a shock by his expensive fare on a competitor's car hire service at the end of his ride, and emphasizes on fare transparency for GrabCar users.

The ride distance and fare is shown immediately once you enter the pick up location and destination.

Advanced bookings are also available at no extra charge, but remember to drop by the ATM beforehand as GrabCar is currently a cash-only service.

Types of cars available:

  • 4-seater: Volkswagon Passat, Toyota Camrys and Mercedes Benz
  • 6-seater: Toyota Vellfire, Toyota Viano, Toyota Alphard and Mercedes Vito
  • 13-seater: Toyota Hiace

GrabTaxi is a free app available on iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store and Blackberry World.

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