Yangon, Myanmar, 26 July 2017 – Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform, today announced its next phase of expansion in Myanmar with new investments in technology, driver care and local partnerships. These developments will improve the user experience and bring the benefits of ride-hailing to millions more people in Yangon.

Following a successful four-month beta trial, Grab driver-partners have reported a 30 percent improvement in monthly income on average, and there are now more than 5,000 drivers on the Grab platform. All Grab driver-partners now have access to banking and financial services through the company’s partnerships with CB Bank and Wave Money. Passengers are also enjoying safe, high-quality fixed fare taxi rides.

“We are deeply appreciative of the opportunity to bring Grab’s service to Yangon and are encouraged by the receptiveness of the local community and the support from the government over the past four months. We’ve seen positive and meaningful results including improvements to driver-partners’ incomes, taxi standards and transport efficiency. We’ve also gathered feedback from our beta trial and translated them into improvements for our users,” said Hooi Ling Tan, Co-Founder of Grab.

“I’m honoured to share that Grab is now fully operational in Yangon. Building on feedback from our beta trial, the next phase for Grab in Myanmar is focused on bringing a five-star experience to driver-partners and passengers, while supporting the government in upgrading its transport infrastructure. This includes making the Grab app more user-friendly, upskilling and improving the well-being of driver-partners on our platform, and creating more job opportunities for locals. We are investing in Myanmar for the long-term,” added Tan.

Delivering a five-star user experience for driver-partners and passengers

To provide value-added services to driver-partners and passengers, Grab has unveiled a localised app with new features, a Driver Care Programme, and plans to set up a 24/7 customer call centre:

1. Making the Grab app more user-friendly

Grab’s newly localised driver and consumer apps are now in Zawgyi and Unicode fonts, enabling commuters using different mobile devices to enjoy the convenience of ride-hailing. The lack of language barrier also means that all licensed taxi drivers can use the Grab app with ease to serve passenger bookings, ensuring that no drivers are left behind.

For seamless driver-and-passenger communication, Grab’s in-app messaging feature, GrabChat, will soon be upgraded to allow automatic translation of templated messages. Templated messages that are sent in Myanmar language will be instantly translated to English, depending on the recipient’s preferred language. With this feature, regional travelers are less likely to cancel their ride bookings due to language barriers, preventing loss of income for driver-partners.

With safety being a key priority, the localised app features a new Emergency button for passengers to quickly dial the local police, in a single tap, without leaving the Grab app. Grab believes in taking a proactive approach to safety.

2. Attending to immediate needs through of a 24/7 call centre

As more locals use ride-hailing to get around, Grab is setting up a new 24/7 customer call centre in August 2017 to address any concerns, feedback and questions from driver-partners and passengers. The customer call centre will be served by experienced customer support staff with in-depth knowledge of Grab’s operations, and joins Grab’s growing team of more than 40 employees in Yangon. In the near future, passengers and driver-partners can tap on the “Contact Us” button within the app to reach Grab’s 24/7 customer call centre.

3. Improving drivers’ welfare through the Grab ‘Driver Care’ Programme

Grab is invested in drivers’ well-being and has introduced a new Grab Driver Care Programme for its network of more than 5,000 drivers. The programme focuses on increasing driver-partners’ net incomes in a sustainable way, while helping them develop new skills. Grab will continue to work with business partners to offer special discounts that will reduce Grab driver-partners’ operating costs.

Currently, Grab driver-partners enjoy discounted mobile data plans from Telenor and are also entitled to free personal accident insurance coverage at no cost to them. The Grab Personal Accident Insurance covers both driver-partners and passengers for medical expenses, permanent disability or accidental death in the event of an accident.

While maximising driver-partners’ incomes is important, Grab believes that upskilling drivers will have a long-term positive impact on their lives. Selected Grab driver-partners will enjoy a free four-hour English language course, sponsored by Grab, to enable them to better serve international travellers.

Partnerships to improve transport experience in Myanmar

In addition to the above developments, Grab has partnered leading industry players to improve lives, covering the following areas:

• Better traffic management through highly accurate mapping: Grab and mapping provider, HERE Technologies, have signed a strategic collaboration to improve traffic management in Yangon through accurate mapping. The Global Positioning System (GPS) data collected from the Grab Driver app will enable the companies to maintain an accurate mapping database, to allow for efficient navigation and future city planning. The companies will also identify and regularly update suitable pick-up and drop-off points at various malls, office buildings and transit hubs so that drivers and passengers can locate one another easily and without causing unnecessary congestion.
• Providing a premium experience to mall visitors: Grab and Junction Centre Group are bringing GrabVenue enterprise terminals to Yangon, as part of a pilot project to improve shopper experience at Junction City. These terminals, which will be available end-August, will enable concierges to make multiple Grab bookings on behalf of mall visitors, or provide visitors the freedom to book Grab rides without needing their own internet connection or smartphones. GrabVenue will be deployed at designated pick-up and drop-off points so users know exactly where to meet their ride.
• Making roads safer through better vision: In line with Myanmar’s Ministry of Health’s National Eye Health Plan (NEPH) 2017 – 2021, Grab and Essilor are coming together to promote road safety by raising awareness on poor vision, and improving access to vision screening and protection for Grab driver-partners.

Celebrating Grab’s next phase of expansion in Myanmar

To thank passengers for their support, Grab is rolling out a special promo for all users. Grab passengers can use the promo code “GRABYANGON” to enjoy MMK 2,000 off three Grab rides, valid for first-time users.