Grab extends ride-hailing service to Japan, Middle East via local tie-ups

Ride-hailing giant Grab announced that users in Singapore and the Phillippines can now book rides in Japan and in 13 countries in the Middle East via the Grab app. It will be available to Grab users in other countries, including Malaysia, in 2020.

Ride bookings will be fulfilled by JapanTaxi in Japan and Careem in the Middle East, according to a statement.

Photo credit: Grab

JapanTaxi operates a fleet of around 70,000 cars. Careem, which was acquired by Uber earlier this year for US$3.1 billion, has more than 1 million drivers in the Middle East. Upon closing of the acquisition, which is expected to occur in Q1 2020, Careem will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber.

The new service will be available in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, Sapporo, and Okinawa in Japan, and in cities such as Dubai, Doha, Istanbul, Cairo, Riyadh, Kuwait, Lahore, Muscat, and Amman in the Middle East.

According to Grab, users will be able to pay for rides using GrabPay credits and earn GrabRewards points. The app will also be in the consumers’ preferred language for easier navigation.

See also: Why Grab is targeting travel and tourism as its next vertical

The new initiative is part of Grab’s existing partnership with Splyt, a London-based global mobility marketplace that Grab invested in in June. Under the partnership, Splyt would be integrating its network of mobility partners into the Grab app, allowing users to book rides across 336 cities in eight countries in Southeast Asia through any of their respective apps.