Basement routing: How serving customers during F1 made us think outside the box

Grab Product Operations, Geo Tech teams

. October 16, 2024 . Regional

Singapore’s Formula 1 Grand Prix is a major attraction, drawing thousands of international travellers to the city-state each year. It is a challenging event for Grab, with significant road closures and pick-up point restrictions for several days surrounding the event, impacting our day-to-day operations. How well can we serve users and partners under these circumstances?

We learn from F1 every year. In 2024, one of our goals was to address a seemingly simple yet relevant challenge: How can we make it easier for our driver-partners to navigate through the network of basements that serves as the only access to some pick-up points inside Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD)?

(Also read: After the Singapore Coldplay shows, here’s how Grab “guides you home”)

The basement routing challenge

For the duration of the event, some hotels including the Ritz Carlton and Parkroyal are inaccessible through the regular entrance route. These hotels serve many travellers during F1, but the only way to reach them is via a complex web of interconnected basements.

From last year’s F1, we learned that driver-partners were losing signal in the basement, and felt uncertain about the correct route to the pick-up points without proper map guidance.

Underground areas aren’t usually mapped in detail due to the lack of supporting data. Entering the basement means losing phone coverage and hence GPS positioning, which complicates navigation for drivers as well as communication with passengers. This can result in a frustrating booking experience.

Clear visual guides and communication

Our teams considered two potential approaches to solve this pain point.

An easy option would have been to provide large, physical signs with instructions for driver-partners throughout these basements. While this solution would be convenient for drivers, it doesn’t reduce the uncertainty for passengers waiting at the pick-up point.

Hence, we thought of a digital solution that would benefit both passengers and drivers to make the journey smoother and reduce anxiety.

The first step was to take the time to digitise the underground routes on GrabMaps. While mapping the basements, we had to take into consideration that there are multiple levels and that the newly mapped data is in accordance with the guidelines of Open Street Map, the open source map GrabMaps is based on. This required collecting field data at the location to plot route references, and enhancing that with the help of a mapping app which is designed to work offline.

Then, we set expectations with clear in-app communication. After a ride booking is confirmed, both driver-partners and passengers are notified that their route will take them through a basement.

Passengers are reminded to wait patiently as the driver navigates to their pick-up point. Driver-partners are given a heads up about the underground route and are reminded to also look for physical road signs along the way.

Then, drivers see a pop-up message starting 100 metres before the underground route begins. This pop-up serves as a reminder for drivers and helps them capture a mental image of the route via the basement as they are expected to lose their network very soon.

Once they have entered the basement, they will no longer be able to trace their real-time position, but still rely on the visual guide provided by the mapped underground route.

We’ve observed improvements during this year’s F1. We measure our impact by looking at cancellation rates, and the number of times drivers and passengers needed to message each other prior to pick-up. High cancellation and “contact” rates indicate friction, such as difficulty of finding each other. Both figures typically go up during major events like F1.

However, this year, compared with figures from F1 2023, we saw significantly fewer cancellations around pick-up and drop-offs related to basement routing for the duration of the event.

We also observed the contact rate between passengers and drivers within the F1 area was reduced by 28 per cent during the event period, compared to last year.

Large events push us to do better

Basement navigation is just one of many challenges posed by mega-events like F1. This year, we also implemented 360-degree images for many official pick-up points, making it easier for passengers and drivers to understand where they need to go.

We also offer step-by-step visual guidance through Grab’s state-of-the-art feature called Venues to help passengers find the right pick-up points, similar to the in-app guidance provided at major airports in the region.

(Also read: Grab app prompts travellers to airport pick-up points)

Major events present unique challenges but they’re also an opportunity for our teams to stretch the limits and solve novel, real-world problems. Solutions developed for special occasions help us innovate and improve the overall platform experience. We are already working on many new tactics to optimise the user booking experience and improve the efficiency of our driver-partners in our F1 2025 roadmap.

Rides

Basement routing: How serving customers during F1 made us think outside the box

The basement routing challenge

Clear visual guides and communication

Large events push us to do better

Komsan Chiyadis

Komsan Chiyadis