Michael Tegos · · 1 min readCarpooling app Swiftback shuts down, migrates users to GrabHitch
Photo credit: libertos / 123RF.
Singaporean carpooling startup Swiftback is shutting down and its base of drivers and riders will migrate to GrabHitch, according to messages from both companies.
Founded in 2015, Swiftback allows passengers to connect with drivers for shared rides through a mobile app. It works like a ride-hailing app and allows payment with both cash and credit card.
Details are scarce at the moment, but Swiftback will no longer work after December 8 and users will be transferred to GrabHitch, Grab’s own carpooling service. Swiftback claims to have over 40,000 app users.
In his parting message, founder Hyu Lim mentions that Swiftback will “be supporting GrabHitch on their journey of growing the carpooling community.”
Grab launched GrabHitch in November 2015 and the service still appears to be in beta.
Rival Uber brought its own carpooling service, UberPool, to Singapore in June 2016. Unlike UberPool, which can be used across all Uber ride options, GrabHitch drivers are not part of GrabCar or GrabTaxi.
(Update, 22:57pm: We initially reported that Grab acquired Swiftback. We’ve updated the piece to reflect that this is simply a redirection of users and traffic from Swiftback to GrabHitch. We regret the error.)
Editing by Neha Margosa, Osman Husain, and Judith Balea
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