7 Things I Learned After Trying GrabShare For The First Time
It's not as scary as it seems.
By Gowri Chitra β 10 Mar 2017, 10:21 AM
Last week, Grab invited us to try out their new feature: GrabShare
The recently launched carpooling option has been under a lot of heat in social media lately, with netizens weighing in on their perceived cons of the feature.
Taking all this into consideration while still keeping an open mind, I tried GrabShare for the first time last week, taking it on multiple occasions throughout the week. Here's everything that I learned from the experience:
1. The process is simple, straightforward and doesn't take much longer than using a normal Grab
Upon opening the app, all you have to do is select the GrabShare option. From there on, it pretty much works like a normal Grab except the app will also be notifying the drivers of other people in the area who have also selected the GrabShare option.
In all the times I tried it, I never had to wait for more than 5-10 minutes for the app to find me a driver and be picked up at my location. In the instances that I did have other passengers in the car with me, their pick-up locations were nearby so there wasn't much of a delay in setting off on our journey.
Plus, when it comes to GrabShare, drivers are instructed to wait for a maximum of only 3 minutes for passengers so you don't really have to worry about some slowpoke taking their own sweet time making you late.
2. It honestly isn't as awkward as you think to share a ride with strangers
I'll admit that I was pretty nervous going into this. As outgoing of a person as I am, carpooling with strangers was still something a little out of my comfort zone. But it was a pleasant surprise to find that it really wasn't as awkward or creepy as I thought it would be.
Personally, I found it a comfort to know that your fellow passenger most probably feels the exact same way. Once you get past the awkward first greetings and nervous laughter, you'll probably be in for a painless journey.
3. You don't have to talk to people if you don't want to
Guys seriously, everyone needs to stop freaking out about "having to keep up a constant stream of small talk" or "being forced to listen to somebody's grandfather grandmother story".
Being an extrovert, it's a natural instinct for me to want to initiate conversation, which I did do with some of the other passengers I GrabShared with. But what I didn't do is force them to keep talking to me or carry on with a one-sided monologue if it was clear that they just wanted to enjoy a nice, quiet ride.
Sharing a ride doesn't necessarily mean that you have to share a conversation. In the occasions that I didn't want to chat, my fellow passengers were more than happy to back off and leave me be. As long as we all remember to be polite and respectful, there's no reason that you'll have an unpleasant experience.
4. It truly blew my mind to see how people still don't understand how GrabShare works
Okay yes, I had my own less than ideal experience with GrabShare too. But honestly, I think that most of the problematic experiences come from people not fully understanding the terms and conditions of GrabShare. People need to get it into their heads that detours are part and parcel of using GrabShare.
So what happened in my case was that two girls who were GrabSharing with me blamed the driver for:
1. Making them late by picking me up.
2. Taking the longest possible route to get to their destination to make them late on purpose.
3. Not telling them where my destination was as they claimed that having that information would have made them choose to not take a GrabShare.
Sound like some familiar claims right? Now here's the the reality of the situation:
1. Our pick-up locations were a mere 5 minutes away (they were in USJ 2 and I was in USJ 6) and I was ready and waiting when they arrived so the delay was negligible.
2. Our driver was following Waze which as we all know takes users through the quickest route and helps to avoid traffic. Plus, we were travelling during morning rush-hour traffic so any Malaysian would know what that entails.
3. They were being dropped-off first so knowing my destination would have made absolutely no difference whatsoever.
The traffic situation on the Federal Highway that morning. Trust me, it was a lot worse than it looks.
Image via SAYSIf anything, I should have been the one annoyed that I would be arriving at work late because we had to detour to drop them off first. And for all their complaining, they still arrived at their destination only a few minutes later than their intended arrival time of 10am and I arrived at my destination within my expected arrival time range.
Just keeping how GrabShare works in mind will go a long way in preventing unfair grievances against the feature. "I didn't know what I was getting into" isn't a legit excuse because not only is there a disclaimer when you select the option, most drivers also brief you on what's going to go down once you get in.
I can't emphasize this enough guys: please remember to plan ahead and account for delays. GrabShare isn't something you can just decide to take at the last minute and expect to be prioritised just because you're in a rush. The other people in the car have paid for the exact same service too.
5. You won't always be riding with other passengers...
For all those of you who have been worried about being scared/uncomfortable about riding with strangers, you'll be glad to know that that isn't always the case. As GrabShare is still a new feature, not many are using it just yet. Thus, most of the time, you'll most likely be riding alone as I did in most of my GrabShare experiences.
One of my Grab drivers shared with me that 3/4 of the time, most GrabShares end up being solo rides. So you get to enjoy the cheaper fare while still enjoying all the privacy of a normal Grab. I don't see a downside here, do you? ;)
6. ...and you can ride with one other friend if you REALLY feel that uncomfortable about sharing a ride with strangers
Having someone familiar with you would help ease any anxieties you may have about travelling with strangers. However, please do note that the maximum capacity in a GrabShare is 4 people (not including the driver) which means that you can only bring one other person with you, in case whoever is sharing with you also has a companion with them.
7. There are some #hacks for you to get the most bang for your buck when using GrabShare
Here are some tips I picked up along the way:
- Use GrabShare for longer journeys to save more. One of my journeys was from Subang Jaya to Damansara Uptown. What would have been an RM20+ ride with normal fare only cost me about RM15. Whereas in comparison, when I took a shorter journey from Damansara Uptown to Paradigm Mall, I only saved about RM2 in total.
- There are some specific promo codes floating around that are exclusive for GrabShare. One of my rides ended up only costing me RM0.50 thanks to using promo codes lol. Here are the ones you can use right now:
1. SHARECARD: offers you up to RM 8 off 10 GrabShare rides (payment method has to be via GrabPay)
2. SHARECASH: offers you RM 5 off 10 GrabShare rides (payment method has to be via cash).
So at the end of it all, I guess the big question is this: would I use GrabShare again?
Yes, I would. There are some kinks to be worked out but the same can be said for any new product or service really. And on their part, Grab is actively taking the public's feedback into consideration to work towards improving GrabShare.
In the meantime, GrabShare still remains as a viable, more afforable option to get around. As long as we all do our part to adhere to the aforementioned guidelines that is. So don't be afraid to give GrabShare a try! :)
Find out more about GrabShare here.