In a notice issued to members yesterday (Mar 26), the company noted, “Uber will be combining our operations with Grab to lead you in the next chapter of ridesharing in Thailand and across Southeast Asia.
“What this means for you: we will be transitioning our services over to the Grab platform by April 8, 2018, so all requests after that date should be made from the Grab app. However, you can still use the Uber app in more than 80 countries around the world.”
The notice recommended Uber users to download the Grab app (click here), create an account, and for new Grab riders to apply promo code GRAB4W for their first Grab ride.
“Thank you, and we look forward to continuing to serve your city with Grab,” the notice concluded.
In response to users concerns, Uber explained via its Facebook page, “After the transition, your Uber app will continue to display your account information and past trips, however it will no longer display any vehicles in Thailand. You can continue to use the Uber app and service in all other markets globally where Uber operates.” (See here.)
Tarin Thaniyavarn, country head of Grab Thailand, yesterday told the Bangkok Post that Grab and Uber are working together to migrate Uber drivers and riders, Uber Eats customers, merchant partners and delivery partners to the Grab platform. (See story here.)
The Uber app will continue to operate for two weeks to give Uber drivers time to sign-up to drive with Grab online. Uber Eats will run until the end of May, after which Uber delivery and restaurant partners will move to the GrabFood platform, the Bangkok Post report noted.
Uber for Business, a service for company employees, will not be supported in Southeast Asia after the transition. Uber rides outside of Southeast Asia will still be supported through existing Uber for Business agreements, it added.
Uber said it will continue to serve and resolve all existing requests in this transition period. The drivers can contact Uber support within the “Help” section of the Uber app, on the Uber website or at any of Uber’s Greenlight locations
Grab is now backed by the world’s two largest global ride-hailing companies (DiDi Chuxing and Uber), in addition to global investor SoftBank, with all three companies havingsignificant stakes in Grab.