Now more towns in the Northern and Southern region of Malaysia can now enjoy the convenience of e-hailing facilities by Grab.

The expansion includes to towns like Mersing, Segamat (Johore), Cameron Highlands (Pahang), Pantai Remis and Baling (Perak).

The launch was held at the Desamall@Mersing launch and officiated by the Minister of Rural Development, Datuk Dr. Abd Latiff Ahmad recently.

The expansion is part of homegrown Grab’s ongoing journey to not only cater to daily needs of our Malaysians but also to help create further opportunities for gig workers and businesses to grow, and strike a balance to sustain the industry.

The expansion plan will see GrabCar being available in Mersing and Segamat from the end September 2020 onwards followed by GrabFood and GrabMart services (which are 100% cashless with GrabPay) planned to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.

This initiative is part Grab’s efforts to ensure no one is left behind in the digital economy especially in rural communities where median incomes are 41% less than median incomes of the urban population according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

“As a proponent of the digital economy, we are proud to bring our technology to these communities to provide Malaysians with more safe, reliable and affordable solutions.

“At the same time, we are creating more income opportunities across our wide ecosystem of services that includes transport, food and mart especially in the rural areas. With this expansion, we also look forward to working with local councils and partners to further support the economic activities in these areas, so they are empowered to thrive in the digital economy” said Ben Chin, Head of Outer Cities, Grab Malaysia.

Grab has also extended their “Pakej Pikul Bersama” initiative to include new driver-partners on the platform by providing a one-off reimbursements up to RM 120 for their PSV licenses and RM 70 for initial PUSPAKOM vehicle inspections.

The “Pakej Pikul Bersama” initiative is designed to help driver-partners get through the regulations process when it was first announced by the Ministry of Transport in 2019.

“We hope that these expansion initiatives will help ensure a fair and inclusive “gig economy” while realizing our nation’s vision for a more robust digital economy in the new normal.” added Chin.