Leaner, meaner, faster: GrabTaxi rebrands as Grab

Ride-hailing app GrabTaxi has rebranded itself as just Grab, the company announced today. The change is effective for all six countries Grab is operating in, and comes complete with a visual rejig, a new logo, and a redesigned app.

As the startup’s services include private car and bike ride-hailing, carpooling, and delivery, the “Taxi” in the name was becoming a little superfluous. “We’re no longer just a taxi app,” Anthony Tan, CEO and co-founder of the company, said during a media event in Singapore.

Grab is Uber’s biggest rival across Southeast Asia. Last month, the Singapore-based firm announced it has joined an alliance between ridesharing companies Lyft, Ola, and Didi Kuaidi to take on their US-based adversary. The alliance allows customers of all four companies to use each other’s services when they’re in their respective territories without switching apps. The firms also share technology and data insights.

The revamped Grab app

grab-new-app-screenshots

Under the hood

The new branding comes along new features in the revamped Grab app. Some of them are aimed at improving the overall user experience. It will now feature personalized locations, pre-filling pickup and drop off points based on your most common trips. Which points those are is determined by the time and day as well as your location.

Things like automated retries to get a driver and improved driver tracking are also aimed at a better experience and address some of the most common user complaints with it. GrabPay, the app’s integrated payment system will now support multiple credit cards. The feature, currently available in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia, will roll out to Thailand and Vietnam in the first half of the year.
Finally, GrabWork will allow business riders to tag their business rides so they can expense them more easily. A passenger hub will allow all riders to monitor their booking history and get personal or business statements for claims purposes.
The Grab passenger hub

grab-passenger-hub-booking-history-screenshot

Good year

Across the six countries it operates in, Grab had 200,000 drivers and 1.5 million bookings per day in 2015, Anthony said. GrabCar saw an average monthly growth of 35 percent, while GrabBike grew 75 percent. During 2015, the company launched carpooling service GrabHitchand delivery service GrabExpress.

The rebranding comes just a few days after Grab announced the launch of a new research and development center in Seattle, along with the ones in Beijing and Singapore.

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