A new collaboration between Grab, a Singapore-based company offering ride-hailing transport services and travel accommodation booking platform Booking.com will now allow travellers to book local rides from the latter’s app. At present, the service is on iOS, and shall soon be accessed by android users.
So, it means that Booking.com users can now book Grab rides in Singapore without the hassle of downloading the Grab app or even creating a new account on the same. This service is currently available in Singapore and will soon be extended to Indonesia and Thailand by the end of the year, and in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and the Philippines by early 2020.
As per an industry report, around 130 million visitors travel to southeast Asia every year, and this move will also help eliminate the language and currency barriers that can stop many visitors using local transport in a new place.
Bryan Batista, chief executive officer of Booking.com’s transport division, says, “It’s an exciting time, as people discover new ways to explore the world around them. Like Grab, we’re delighted to be pushing the boundaries, combining our unique strengths to deliver added value and bring travellers real, tangible benefits.”
According to both the companies, 70 per cent of the world’s ride-hailing activity takes place in Asia as a whole – and southeast Asia.
Adding to this, Mark Porter, chief technology officer for Transport, Mobility, and Core Technology at Grab, “Grab’s core mission since day one has been to make it safer, easier and more affordable for anyone to get from point A to point B in southeast Asia. Grab’s core mission since day one has been to make it safer, easier and more affordable for anyone to get from point A to point B in southeast Asia.”
