Grab in Chiang Mai

[Mekong Bob]

I was a regular patron of Uber until its demise this month.

 

Tried Grab 4-5 times and find its rates are definitely higher.

The Grab software is not as accurate as Uber, but workable.

 

How about you?  Satisfied with Grab?

[amexpat]

You said it all.

I hope they get the mapping working better.  UBER had similar problems. 

Maybe Google maps is the problem? 

 

[jonwilly]

I agree Grab prices seem slightly higher and their map is not as accurate as Uber was.

Most of their drivers are ex Uber.

I still prefer them to Red Songthaws let alone Tuk Tuks.

 

john

[elektrified]

More than slightly higher to me. Uber was very reasonable. Grab can be as much as 50% higher depending on the location.

[narkeddiver]

The map in Grab seems lousy compared to the map in Uber but so far the prices seems in the same ballpark +- 5 baht depending on the time

[FolkGuitar]

I've used Grab for about 8-10 rides now. The map is OK provided you can use the Thai/English spelling for every place you want to go. That was a bit disconcerting at first, but you get used to it, or just use the 'pin the map' feature for destinations. ... or just tell the driver a more accurate location when he arrives. Price-wise, perhaps I've had to pay 5-10 baht more that I did for the same rides with Uber. On the plus side, every pick-up came MUCH faster than they did with Uber, easily twice as fast. I guess putting the two together increased the number of drivers significantly.  Still worth it over sitting in the back of a truck.

[Shiver]

Never used Uber, but Grab priced very well compared to Tuk Tuks and Taxis (Udon city).  My one (insert expletive description here) is that they're fine taking you 10 Km's out of the city, but they will never ever collect you on your the return to the city, even with tips, promises and prior arrangements, knowing that they've effectively stranded you.

 

Huge failure in their business model.

[hobz]

17 hours ago, amexpat said:

You said it all.

I hope they get the mapping working better.  UBER had similar problems. 

Maybe Google maps is the problem? 

 

It's not Google maps. It's a huge flaw on the grab software.

Let me explain.

In Uber you could target any location as pickup / destination.

In grab it needs to be an address. So if you set a location that does not correspond to an address (or landmark, or whatever) in Google maps, then it will jump to the nearest (or sometimes not even the nearest) location it can find.

 

Also it's more expensive.

 

In Singapore the government set up rules for the transfer of Uber to grab making sure grab does not raise prices. Singapore has anti Monopoly laws to protect consumerd., And they are enforced. U think this happens in Thailand?? 5555

[alant]

10 minutes ago, hobz said:

It's not Google maps. It's a huge flaw on the grab software.

Let me explain.

In Uber you could target any location as pickup / destination.

In grab it needs to be an address. So if you set a location that does not correspond to an address (or landmark, or whatever) in Google maps, then it will jump to the nearest (or sometimes not even the nearest) location it can find.

 

Also it's more expensive.

 

In Singapore the government set up rules for the transfer of Uber to grab making sure grab does not raise prices. Singapore has anti Monopoly laws to protect consumerd., And they are enforced. U think this happens in Thailand?? 5555

I set pick up and destinations via Google maps otherwise like you say the maker jumps to a place it knows.

Grab only lists commercial places based on Foursquare popularity where as Uber would list Google listed venues.

Both seem to use Google maps based navigation which refuses to correct wrong routes.

[xtof2]

I used both picking one or the other according to rates and availability.

Monopoly cannot be good and already Grab does not notify me with as many promos as before. I can’t wait to see another provider coming up.

[casinoexp]

4 hours ago, Shiver said:

Never used Uber, but Grab priced very well compared to Tuk Tuks and Taxis (Udon city).  My one (insert expletive description here) is that they're fine taking you 10 Km's out of the city, but they will never ever collect you on your the return to the city, even with tips, promises and prior arrangements, knowing that they've effectively stranded you.

 

Huge failure in their business model.

Same thing happened to me in udon Thani.  Not a great place to live for me. As far as the rates I looked them up and they are still 20% of whatever price we pay in the western world.   At some point I guess the drivers need to survive and spend money at all those new malls they built in Thailand. 

[naboo]

Mobike is still free. Just completed 3km and burned 175kcal as well. Not going to be an option every time, but even when the free promo ends only 15B for what I just did.

[windas]

The mapping used by Uber in Thailand and UK is less than accurate. I hope Grab improve the mapping as I found Grab in Thailand very good, where as I found Uber hopeless and not much better in London.

Bangkok deserves a good well organised taxi service and if Grab can come up to the mark all the better. My Thai wife has had several bad times in run of the mill taxis and will only use private hire for the longer journeys.

[off road pat]

My wife and I used Grab 2 times in Chiang Mai and once in BKK.

Every time to our satisfaction, good service prices were ok..the one in BKK from Suhumvit soi 6 to Savanabhumi was a bit more expensive than a taxi 470 Bth but drove carefully and not too fast. I give it a +++++

[peterb17]

Yes - no further comment required 

[Mekong Bob]

Grab is now co-owned by same owner as Thailand 7-11, so I was told.

 

Would like to think we could direct comments to a local (Chiang Mai) office for feedback.

 

Also like to think map labels (English and Thai) on Grab maps could be submitted to a local (Chiang Mai) office for additions and corrections.

 

 

[Barley]

Sometimes I wonder how Grab selects their drivers.

Today I had a driver who seemed to be a bit insecure.

So 1st I asked him if his car was new. He said yes, 2 weeks old.

Then I asked him if he got his driver's license at the same time 2 weeks ago and he also answered yes.

Then I gave him a few tips on driving.

But really I am surprised these companies hire drivers with very little experience to transport passengers.

[elgenon]

On 4/28/2018 at 2:15 PM, off road pat said:

My wife and I used Grab 2 times in Chiang Mai and once in BKK.

Every time to our satisfaction, good service prices were ok..the one in BKK from Suhumvit soi 6 to Savanabhumi was a bit more expensive than a taxi 470 Bth but drove carefully and not too fast. I give it a +++++

I pay about 270THB in a regular taxi. 470 is close to the 500 that many taxis with unused meters charge.

[off road pat]

1 hour ago, elgenon said:

I pay about 270THB in a regular taxi. 470 is close to the 500 that many taxis with unused meters charge.

Yes 270/300 used to be the usual price we paid for a taxi before, but then it was Russian Roulette on the highway with the drivers !?!

[Mekong Bob]

how to locate your residence on Google Maps, copy precise location (geocoordinates?), then add details to Grab map, save as a stored location, label it as "home" or house number, street address??

 

thanks!

[JaseTheBass]

The map is fine, but the last 2 times I requested a car the geniuses couldn't read it.

Sent from my R2D2 droid using my C3P0 manservant

[The manic]

Grab in Pattaya is as expensive as the unmetered taxi mafia...No point using them. Uber 180 Pratumnak to BPH...Grab 300 baht.

[kalbo123]

I collect telephone numbers of Grab drivers that seem to be more intelligent then the average taxi driver. Works great, Call them directly if I need a taxi.

[bubba]

I just tried Grab yesterday for the first time, having used Uber a lot previously. Compared to Uber:

 

- The Grab map location database contains only a fraction of what Uber's contained. That means you will often have to find your own pickup and drop-off locations on the map.

 

- Unlike Uber, Grab did not plot the route to my destination, so you have no way of knowing whether the driver is taking the most direct or correct route. 

 

- My position on the map while enroute did not update, but lagged by as much as several minutes.

 

- You don't get all those interesting driver details like Uber did, but we can live without that.

 

- Yes, Grab was far more expensive compared to Uber for the same trip, by about 35%, but it's still relatively cheap.

 

- The emailed receipt details from Grab were in Thai (too bad if you do not read Thai) and didn't show the route taken, as Uber's receipts did.

 

- I didn't have a driver route problem, but after my ride just to check out the app, I looked into how to obtain a fare refund or adjustment for a driver taking a poor route. That was simple with Uber and they always promptly responded with a resolution. Tapping "Report a Past Issue" you get taken through a series of Help Centre pages in broken English only to find out that there is no apparent way to make such a request. In fact they seem to admonish the rider by saying "In every ride, we advise you to drop your preferred route in NOTE TO DRIVER so driver can follow your request". Sure, and what if you are not a local and have no idea what the route should be? Keep in mind that the route is not plotted on the rider's map so you have no idea where you are or which route the driver is taking.

 

I have yet to receive a discount promotion from Grab, while I used to get them once or twice per month from Uber. The Grab driver I had told me he used to drive for Uber but now on Grab he gets a fraction of the rides he used to get on Uber and was reconsidering driving for Grab at all. He said he found the Grab app not as easy to use and found it more difficult to locate his pickups, probably because the mapping and locations database are both inferior to Uber's.

 

I have a car but often used Uber for convenience when going to places where parking would be difficult. I think I will be doing more of my own driving now.

[YogaVeg]

Does anyone know if you can use Grab via wifi-only, no cell service? This would mean arranging the ride in the app, standing outside my door, and as soon as I got in the vehicle I would no longer have connection. Probably best to link a credit card?

I assume GPS would still track as it does in Uber?

[Trujillo]

Why do you think linking to a credit card will help your GPS location without an internet connection? 

[YogaVeg]

 

5 minutes ago, Trujillo said:

Why do you think linking to a credit card will help your GPS location without an internet connection? 

That's 1 of 3 different questions, I see I could have been more clear.

I ask about the cc because without service I've no way to watch the fare progress (if in fact it does) for things like traffic, alt routes, ect.

So if I am paying via cc the fare should be auto adjusted and paid for is my assumption, so there is no need for fare negotiation with driver at the end, when I will be disconnected.

[bubba]

1 hour ago, YogaVeg said:

 

That's 1 of 3 different questions, I see I could have been more clear.

I ask about the cc because without service I've no way to watch the fare progress (if in fact it does) for things like traffic, alt routes, ect.

So if I am paying via cc the fare should be auto adjusted and paid for is my assumption, so there is no need for fare negotiation with driver at the end, when I will be disconnected.

 

When you request your ride with Grab, you are provided with a fixed fare, regardless of traffic, alternate routes, etc. You can select cash or credit card when you make your request. Select cash, and the indicated fixed fare is what you will pay your driver at your destination.

[JimmyJ]

4 hours ago, YogaVeg said:

Probably best to link a credit card?

 

 

Yes.

 

Don't have to fumble with cash; np with driver not having change; get cc rewards/points.

Also keeps record of rides if one wants to double check Grab's history.

 

And some promos relate to cc's.