Petaling Jaya, 22 June 2022 – Grab Malaysia announced a concerted effort with a sign-up bonus of up to RM1,000 for any Malaysians who sign up as drivers onto the platform. This is a major push by Grab and is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to bring more drivers on board, to better serve its driver-partners and make transportation accessible for all passengers.  

From 1 June to 31 July 2022, new driver-partners who sign up and fulfil a minimum number of trips will receive a bonus of up to RM1,000 in addition to existing subsidies that would help with the e-hailing regulatory costs. Grab hopes that this concerted effort and added bonuses will attract potential driver-partners to meet the demand for transport amid the post-pandemic reopening.

“Grab’s mission right from the start has been to provide safe, convenient transportation options, while improving the livelihood of Malaysians. As of mid-May this year, the number of driver-partners on our platform is still less than 70% of what it was pre-pandemic. One of the many reasons is the long and costly process imposed on drivers before they get on the road.  We hope that the sign-up bonus will encourage new driver-partners to come on board as quickly as possible to benefit from the additional earnings that are available to them,” said Rashid Shukor, Director of Country Operations and Mobility, Grab Malaysia.

New drivers need to complete numerous steps to meet regulatory requirements, such as attending six hours of training, passing exams and vehicle inspections, purchasing insurance, and collating and submitting documents to various government agencies for processing. This places a structural limit to how quickly a new driver-partner can start driving and requires a financial investment amounting to more than RM500 by each new driver-partner to come on board. These barriers to entry affect the time it takes for supply to catch up with the sharp increase in demand.

Grab Malaysia is also extending its existing reimbursement of up to 100% of total driver-partner regulatory compliance cost, to help minimise their cost burden. Additionally, existing driver-partners can benefit from earning an existing referral bonus programme if they help sign up new driver-partners to the Grab platform.

“We hope that this supply and demand imbalance will be transient, as we race against time to onboard new driver-partners. We commit to continue working closely with the authorities to clear the obstacles for our driver-partners, so that many more can earn an income via e-hailing and serve the daily commuting needs of everyone”, concluded Rashid.

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