Grab offers Chinese-speaking drivers in KK on request
KOTA KINABALU: Ride hailing service, Grab, is offering GrabCar Mandarin for passengers here, a feature unique to the state capital.
Country marketing head Iris Chang said the one-of-akind feature, which assigned passengers a Chinese-speaking driver upon request, was available only in Kota Kinabalu as of now, given the high traffic of tourists from China.
“We introduced this feature here because we saw (the) huge potential given (by) tourist arrivals from mainland China to KK, which is unlike any other in the country.
“It's almost impossible to book a hotel room in town because there are so many tourists. This is why we decided this feature would be a good addition to our services here,” she said.
While there are currently no plans to expand the feature to other states, Iris said they were open to the idea and would consider it if there was demand, adding that the response to GrabCar Mandarin here had been positive since its introduction.
Additionally, Grab introduced new safety features to enhance overall passenger, driver and road safety.
Of the newer features are a one-touch emergency button in the passenger app which connects passengers to the national emergency response service (MERS 999), as well as a telematics programme, a combination of machine learning and predictive analytics which identifies unsafe driving habits.
Furthermore, Grab is now working with official safety camera partner Eagle-i to provide free dashboard cameras to 3,500 top performing female and platinum drivers nationwide.
Iris said this initiative was to ensure the safety of both passengers and drivers, as the camera could record both audio and visual footage of up to 90 minutes with a 120-degree view, complete with a safety sticker to avoid tampering.
Other drivers can purchase the camera via Eagle-i's website at a 70 per cent discount for a limited time, she added.
Since arriving in the state in August last year, Grab is now operational in Sandakan, Tawau and Labuan in addition to Kota Kinabalu, as well as in every state throughout the country.