Grab now shows users their rides and deliveries happening in real-time on iPhone’s Live Activities

Hann Lam Woo, Lead Product Manager
. September 21, 2023 . Regional

Grab users are now able to see the live status of their rides and deliveries without having to unlock their phones to do so.

The “Live Activities” feature is available on iPhones, and displays real-time tracking status of a Grab driver-partner to the end-user.

Passengers can track their ride from start to finish right from their lock screens.

This is displayed to users on their lock screens with a dynamic graphic of a car marking the status of the ride.

We started building this feature for the Grab app earlier this year, when we found that users were constantly opening the Grab app after making a booking, specifically to check on the status of their trips and deliveries.

With Live Activities, users do not have to switch back and forth between apps either. The Live Activities will show the live ETA of the arrivals and trip status. The vehicle type and license plate number will also be displayed so that passengers can confidently identify their driver-partner the moment they’ve arrived. 

Meanwhile, GrabFood, GrabMart and GrabExpress users can stay updated on where their order is at, whether the delivery-partner is in-transit and if the order has been delivered.

With users more aware of their Grab rides, we expect this will benefit our driver-partners too. When a driver is nearby, the user is given a heads up to make their way to the pick-up point, so they’re more likely to be on time and waiting for the driver when the latter arrives.

On newer iPhone models, Live Activities will be displayed on the Dynamic Island area on the top. 

The Dynamic Island available on newer iPhone models is able to display content that's running in the background.

Apple first launched its Live Activities feature last year, allowing developers to push live updates to the lock screen. We’ve seen a similar application for sports alerts, flight updates, step count, and more.

We are working on rolling this feature out to Android users. 

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Komsan Chiyadis

GrabFood delivery-partner, Thailand

Komsan Chiyadis

GrabFood delivery-partner, Thailand

COVID-19 has dealt an unprecedented blow to the tourism industry, affecting the livelihoods of millions of workers. One of them was Komsan, an assistant chef in a luxury hotel based in the Srinakarin area.

As the number of tourists at the hotel plunged, he decided to sign up as a GrabFood delivery-partner to earn an alternative income. Soon after, the hotel ceased operations.

Komsan has viewed this change through an optimistic lens, calling it the perfect opportunity for him to embark on a fresh journey after his previous job. Aside from GrabFood deliveries, he now also picks up GrabExpress jobs. It can get tiring, having to shuttle between different locations, but Komsan finds it exciting. And mostly, he’s glad to get his income back on track.