Photo credit: Grab.
Southeast Asian ride-hailing unicorn Grab has acquired Singaporean carpooling startup Swiftback, according to blog posts by both companies (h/t to Vulcan Post).
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.
It’s unclear if the Swiftback team or its tech will make the transition to Grab.
Details of the deal are undisclosed, but Swiftback will shut down after December 8 and users will migrate to GrabHitch, Grab’s own carpooling service. Swiftback claims to have over 40,000 app users.
It’s unclear if the Swiftback team or its tech will make the transition to Grab or if just its user base will. In his parting message, founder Hyu Lim mentions that Swiftback will “be supporting GrabHitch on their journey of growing the carpooling community,” but doesn’t elaborate.
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.
We’ve reached out to Grab for more details and will update this story when we hear back.
This post https://www.techinasia.com/grab-acquires-swiftback-carpooling appeared first on Tech in Asia.
from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/grab-acquires-swiftback-carpooling
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