Popular ride app Grab has launched the beta version of its latest project on Monday, a social carpooling service called GrabHitch designed to help ease Bangkok’s never-ending traffic.
The premise is that you can book a shared ride anytime from a week to 15 minutes before you want to go. The app matches drivers and riders that are headed in the same direction. The riders pay a flat fee of THB50 each, no matter where they are going.
The text says, “GrabHitch offers services for motorists to save costs by letting passengers who are traveling in the same direction hop on their ride.”
Perhaps the best thing about this new service is that Grab isn’t making money off of it. It’s simply a social service that they are facilitating.
So far, more than 100 drivers have signed up.
GrabHitch is now integrated into the current Grab app. Find it by scrolling across the bottom, it’s to the right of the GrabTaxi, Bike and Car options.
GrabHitch launched in Singapore in August, where it has gotten a good response. Thailand will be the second market for the ride-sharing service, reported Bangkok Post.
The company has said that wannabe GrabHitch drivers are vetted just as thoroughly as their other drivers, so passengers can feel safe.
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