Grab Buys Uber’s Southeast Asia Business, Ending Service in Thailand in Two Weeks from Today

[snoop1130]

Grab Buys Uber’s Southeast Asia Business, Ending Service in Thailand in Two Weeks from Today

by CityNews

 

 

CityNews – Uber has today confirmed speculation that they will be selling their Southeast Asia business to ride-share rival, Grab and have announced that they will end service in Southeast Asia in two weeks from today.

 

News first broke in early 2018 that Uber and Grab were discussing a merger, but until today no official announcement was made. As part of the sale, the entire Southeast Asia Uber business – including ride-sharing and food delivery – will be transferred to Grab, in exchange for a 27.5 percent stake in Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board.

 

Uber will run for just two more weeks before ceasing operations in the region. This will give existing drivers and customers time to move to the Grab platform that will take over ride-sharing in two weeks and food delivery in late May.

 

Full Story: http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/grab-buys-ubers-southeast-asia-business-ending-service-thailand-two-weeks-today/

 

-- © Copyright Chiang City News 2018-3-26

[webfact]

Uber exit hands region to Grab

By THE NATION

 

Tarin Thaniyavarn, country head of Grab Thailand

 

RIDE-HAILING company Grab is taking over US rival Uber Technologies’ operations in Southeast Asia in the largest deal of its kind in Southeast Asia.
 

Grab chief executive and co-founder Anthony Tan yesterday said Singapore-based Grab would integrate Uber's ride-sharing and food-delivery business in the region into its multi-modal transport and financial technology (fintech) platform. 

 

With the combined business, Grab, which has a high profile in Thailand, aims to be the region’s No 1 online-to-offline mobile platform and a major player in food delivery.

 

Tan said Grab provides safe and affordable transport, food and package deliveries, mobile payments and financial services. These will be extended as it takes over Uber’s operations and assets in Thailand. Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. 

 

As part of the acquisition, Uber will take a 27.5 per cent stake in Grab and Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board.

 

“I would like to personally share with you some of my strongest beliefs, to reaffirm our commitment as a team to our community, as well as to offer a glimpse of what the future holds,” said Tarin Thaniyavarn, country head of Grab Thailand, in a statement released yesterday.

 

 “First of all, as a Southeast Asian and Thai, I believe that this development is a major milestone for all of us, and not just from my perspective as the country head of Grab Thailand,” he said.

 

“After all, Grab is a Southeast homegrown start-up which started its business in the region less than six years ago and in Thailand, five years ago. Who would have thought that we would be where we are today?

 

“We are now on track towards our goal of becoming the No1 ride-hailing, food delivery and fintech platform in Southeast Asia, an achievement for all of us as Southeast Asians across eight countries and 195 cities in the region.

 

“Our partnership with Uber will only fuel our drive and passion to serve our community better. We have always believed – and still believe – that we need to keep outdoing ourselves at every stage in order to earn the right to serve them. If anything, this union strongly affirms that our commitment to put the needs of our customers and driver-partners first is the right one.”

 

He expects this combination will “drive a better experience for our community” of drivers and users.

 

“With a greater concentration of jobs and available drivers, we expect to see shorter wait-times and faster pick-ups. This would mean better productivity for our drivers, and better reliability for our passengers,” Tarin. “New Grab users will be able to benefit from our unique features such as GrabRewards for passengers and Better365’for driver-partners. GrabRewards makes our users’ experience more rewarding.

 

“Meanwhile, our Better365 enables our drivers to enjoy better benefits, support and opportunities to engage with other driver-partners through special periodical workshops, sports day and get-together events. We are so excited to be given this opportunity to serve you all.”

 

 Tarin said the company would be pushing towards its next stage of growth. “This would come from serving Thais in all their most important daily needs, whether to ride, pay, dine or earn more for their families,” he said. “Today, we are already serving 90 million Southeast Asians, and empowering more than five million micro-entrepreneurs – driver-partners, merchants and agents – across the region to earn more.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Corporate/30341799

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-27

[Justfine]

"empowering" 

 

They are exploiting people via an app. IT geeks are the only ones making good money.

[ExpatOilWorker]

37 minutes ago, Justfine said:

"empowering" 

 

They are exploiting people via an app. IT geeks are the only ones making good money.

I know one happy Uber driver. He can work whenever he wants and the pay is reasonable, compared to other jobs he has done.

 

Will Uber simple cease to exist in Thailand or will they run it in parallel with Grab? 

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Damn, no more pratumnak hill stays for me.

 

[anto]

14 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

I know one happy Uber driver. He can work whenever he wants and the pay is reasonable, compared to other jobs he has done.

 

Will Uber simple cease to exist in Thailand or will they run it in parallel with Grab? 

When he does the math and stops fooling himself he will realize he is an Uber slave .

[Justfine]

6 minutes ago, anto said:

When he does the math and stops fooling himself he will realize he is an Uber slave .

Exactly. Running a car into the ground for IT geeks.

[crazygreg44]

36 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

I know one happy Uber driver. He can work whenever he wants and the pay is reasonable, compared to other jobs he has done

i hope he will still be happy when his self-employed enterprise will get taxed for the first time . . . . if he hasn't based his calculations onto this yet, he will be in for a surprise.

 

as UBER and the likes shift all duties & responsibilities to the drivers.  

 

They alone pay for the car, the repairs, they need to pay for all the insurances (passengers liabilities!!) , they carry the risk of car breaking down, accident, kidnapping, robbery et cetera.

 

Health insurance

 

Maybe his prior jobs were such a mess that UBER sounds like a good alternative

 

But has he ever made up a realistic calculation . . is he aware of the total outcome?  I know many happy drivers who come home with 65 Dollars and tell their wife happily that they believe they have earned 65 dollars today - forgetting to deduct their expenses. . . . . . . . 

 

In highly civilized countries like my own (Germany) online grabbers are regarded as being cynically antisocial

 

 

[crazygreg44]

we can call ourselves lucky to be able to just wave a taxi down at any streetside in Bangkok . . .

 

if likes of GRAB and UBER take full control, it could mean one good thing - no empty taxis polluting the air while driving around looking for passengers . . . . 

 

However then you need a lot of parking spaces for taxis-on-the-wait-for-an-APP-call 

 

 . . .and you need EVERYBODY to be equipped with a Smartphone, not excluding  Grandma & Pops

 

 .. i guess the future is not very far away 

[Justfine]

Just now, crazygreg44 said:

we can call ourselves lucky to be able to just wave a taxi down at the streetside in Bangkok

 

if likes of GRAB and UBEr take over, it could mean one good thing - no empty taxis polluting the air while driving around looking for passengers.

 

However then you need a lot of parking spaces for taxis-on-the-wait-for-an-APP-call 

Just be more empty grab cars driving around. I'd rather not make IT geeks richer.

[crazygreg44]

4 minutes ago, Justfine said:

Just be more empty grab cars driving around. I'd rather not make IT geeks richer.

 . .you might be absolutely right about that . . . Thai taxi drivers love to cram around empty . . 

 

I completely forgot . . .a GRAB driver who gets waved down can still offer a taxi ride free of the GRAB provision . . . 

 

my guess . . . GRAB will expand like crazy and the drivers are happy for the opportunity.

 

It will still mean . . .an incoming call answered by 100 Grab Taxidrivers means 99 of them have to give in to the ONE lucky driver

 

 

[Justfine]

Just now, crazygreg44 said:

 . .you might be absolutely right about that . . . Thai taxi drivers love to cram around empty . . 

 

I completely forgot . . .a GRAB driver who gets waved down can still offer a taxi ride free of the GRAB provision . . . 

 

my guess . . . GRAB will expand like crazy

 

 

It's just hi tech network marketing. A few at the top get rich while those at the bottom do the work.

 

And if headquarters are overseas 50-70% of the money goes elsewhere.

 

 

 

[halloween]

My Oz accountant tells me Uber drivers here are paying 28% of fare to Uber for use of their app. I assume that also covers the advertising and the payoffs to channel 9 for favourable "news" stories.

In recent news, a Sydney uber who had been working 21hrs straight drove away while a passenger was sill exiting the vehicle. Passenger thrown in front of a bus and killed, driver charged with neg. driving causing death (manslaughter equivalent).

[dotpoom]

1 hour ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

I know one happy Uber driver. He can work whenever he wants and the pay is reasonable, compared to other jobs he has done.

 

Will Uber simple cease to exist in Thailand or will they run it in parallel with Grab? 

"Uber will run for just two more weeks before ceasing operations in the region. This will give existing drivers and customers time to move to the Grab platform that will take over ride-sharing in two weeks and food delivery in late May."

[harrycallahan]

2 hours ago, Justfine said:

Exactly. Running a car into the ground for IT geeks.

In Philippines I use Grab and am driven by guilt to tip at least 20% more than meter price. It's ludicrously cheap. 

[Justfine]

11 minutes ago, harrycallahan said:

In Philippines I use Grab and am driven by guilt to tip at least 20% more than meter price. It's ludicrously cheap. 

Just use a cab or bus.

[gusincebu]

In Philippines I use Grab and am driven by guilt to tip at least 20% more than meter price. It's ludicrously cheap. 

There's a meter ?

Sent from my SM-T535 using Tapatalk

[JAG]

2 hours ago, crazygreg44 said:

They alone pay for the car, the repairs, they need to pay for all the insurances (passengers liabilities!!) , they carry the risk of car breaking down, accident, kidnapping, robbery et cetera

So a bit like being a taxi or private hire car owner/driver virtually anywhere in the world then?

 

If you own a taxi or private hire car and want to be on a radio despatch system then you pay for it -either with a fixed radio rent or by a percentage of the fare. Those are the harsh realities of the business, everywhere. Apps like "Grab" simply take the process into the 21st Century.

[Justfine]

Just now, JAG said:

So a bit like being a taxi or private hire car owner/driver virtually anywhere in the world then?

 

If you own a taxi or private hire car and want to be on a radio despatch system then you pay for it -either with a fixed radio rent or by a percentage of the fare. Those are the harsh realities of the business, everywhere. Apps like "Grab" simply take the process into the 21st Century.

Not correct. All those other businesses have bookings online and local companies covering costs.

 

The difference is a foreign company is taking money outside the country and passing off the costs to people. They are exploiting people who are out of work or in between jobs.

 

It's a network marketing setup.

[JAG]

44 minutes ago, harrycallahan said:

In Philippines I use Grab and am driven by guilt to tip at least 20% more than meter price. It's ludicrously cheap. 

I've used Grab a few times now in Bangkok, mainly to travel to Don Muang Airport. They are comparable (maybe a little bit more expensive) than the "meter fare". The advantage is that you can see when the car is going to turn up (obviously allowing for the varieties of traffic) and there is none of that "too far, wrong way, meter no work" nonsense.

[Skeptic7]

Well this sucks. I like GRAB alot, but used Uber as price compare and backup. Last month found Uber to be the better deal by B100 on one occasion. Also, GRAB has been very slow to find a driver lately...and none available has become quite common.

 

Competition and choice are good for the customer. Sad to see Uber go. 

[JAG]

6 minutes ago, Justfine said:

Not correct. All those other businesses have bookings online and local companies covering costs.

 

The difference is a foreign company is taking money outside the country and passing off the costs to people. They are exploiting people who are out of work or in between jobs.

 

It's a network marketing setup.

It is exactly as I state. I drove a taxi (private hire car) in the UK for a couple of years before I moved here. It was far from my ideal job, I loathed many aspects of it, but circumstances (caring for my mother who had dementia) meant I needed a job with the total flexibility of working hours it offered, low start up costs and relatively quick returns .

 

You provide the car, licence, maintain and insure it. You pay to be on the radio circuit, £70 a week, £100 if you had a "second driver" sharing the car. A significant proportion of the work (30%+) was "account work", the company took 10% and paid out at the end of the next month. That is pretty much the standard set up, in the UK and most places worldwide.

 

Oh, and if you get your head kicked in and robbed, the police can't be arssed, you're only a bloody cabbie...

 

All that Grab and Under are doing is introducing new technology. The fact that they are doing so using a worldwide platform is not relevant, either to the customers or drivers.

 

 

[Justfine]

Just now, JAG said:

It is exactly as I state. I drove a taxi (private hire car) in the UK for a couple of years before I moved here. It was far from my ideal job, I loathed many aspects of it, but circumstances (caring for my mother who had dementia) meant I needed a job with the total flexibility of working hours it offered, low start up costs and relatively quick returns .

 

You provide the car, licence, maintain and insure it. You pay to be on the radio circuit, £70 a week, £100 if you had a "second driver" sharing the car. A significant proportion of the work (30%+) was "account work", the company took 10% and paid out at the end of the next month. That is pretty much the standard set up, in the UK and most places worldwide.

 

Oh, and if you get your head kicked in and robbed, the police can't be arssed, you're only a bloody cabbie...

 

All that Grab and Under are doing is introducing new technology. The fact that they are doing so using a worldwide platform is not relevant, either to the customers or drivers.

 

 

Apps aren't new and no security cameras means they are less safe. Plus money is being shuffled off overseas.

 

It's a dud.

[Skeptic7]

4 hours ago, Justfine said:

"empowering" 

 

They are exploiting people via an app. IT geeks are the only ones making good money.

No one holding guns to the heads of the drivers. They choose to be a GRAB or Uber driver. Can part ways anytime. Big difference 'tween exploitation and underpaying. If they are, indeed, the same...well hell, most of Thailand's workforce is being exploited. 

[Justfine]

1 minute ago, Skeptic7 said:

No one holding guns to the heads of the drivers. They choose to be a GRAB or Uber driver. Can part ways anytime. Big difference 'tween exploitation and underpaying. If they are, indeed, the same...well hell, most of Thailand's workforce is being exploited. 

They lie about how much they can earn. Franchise companies do the same. They use ideal figures during the busiest days of year then claim you can earn that weekly.

 

Operating illegally in many countries as well without insurance.

 

 

 

 

[hobz]

Uber works really well in Chiang Mai and it's really loved by people that like to party.

 

The grab app is terrible. The user interface sucks. If your location is not exactly where a there is an address or place it jumps sometimes several kilometers to another place causing confusion for the driver who is supposed to pick you up. Same with the destination which is a problem if you don't know the way.

 

This means there will be more people going back to drunk driving or having to pay extortion prices to the local taxi mafia.

 

Sad day.

[pby92]

1 hour ago, gusincebu said:

 

There's a meter ?

Sent from my SM-T535 using Tapatalk
 

 

No but when you use the Grab app there is an estimation of the coast as using a Grab meter taxi.So me also I use grab in Philippines no fight for meter or itinerary and I always tip the Grab driver 

[harrycallahan]

1 hour ago, gusincebu said:

 

There's a meter ?

Sent from my SM-T535 using Tapatalk
 

 

Of sorts! The pre-agreed fixed fare. 

[Justfine]

4 minutes ago, hobz said:

Uber works really well in Chiang Mai and it's really loved by people that like to party.

 

The grab app is terrible. The user interface sucks. If your location is not exactly where a there is an address or place it jumps sometimes several kilometers to another place causing confusion for the driver who is supposed to pick you up. Same with the destination which is a problem if you don't know the way.

 

This means there will be more people going back to drunk driving or having to pay extortion prices to the local taxi mafia.

 

Sad day.

The local "mafia" arent making millions of dollars from driving drunk people around. Just a reasonable amount.

 

Sad that people care more about 50 baht than people.

 

[Old York]

Uber has provided excellent service in Chiang Mai. Not sure a monopoly is a good idea.