KUALA LUMPUR: Ride-sharing company Grab today launched its latest feature, GrabShare, offering customers the option to carpool using its mobile application.

According to Grab Malaysia Country Head Sean Goh, GrabShare offers passengers lower rates of up to 30% as compared to its regular ride-sharing option, GrabCar.

“Since the ride is shared, each booking can only accommodate a maximum of two passengers to allow room for the next customer. When the two bookings are matched, Grab will assign the drop offs for the best time efficiency.

“With this, we also hope to reduce (traffic) congestion in the city,” Goh said at the launch today.

Apart from Malaysia, GrabShare is also available in Manila, Philippines. The service was first launched in Singapore late last year and garnered two million rides in just two months.

On Monday, it was reported that over 100 Grab drivers protested against the company’s policy of making deductions for every passenger a driver failed to pick up.

Driver Mohd Kamarul Faisal Kamarulzaman, 41, claimed some had their earnings slashed by between RM1,100 and RM1,600 a month since the policy was introduced.

He said Grab was deducting more money than it should without any justifiable explanation.

Meanwhile President of the Small and Medium-Scale Entrepreneurs Association of Malaysia, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah gave Grab a week to resolve the issue, failing which the drivers would lodge a police report.

Grab recently introduced an acceptance reward and cancellation fee scheme to deter drivers from ignoring or cancelling rides.

A Grab spokeswoman said the purpose of the exercise was to ensure that drivers were conscientious of their bookings and continued to serve their passengers.

Drivers are to be penalised RM1 for any job they cancel or ignore. However, they are given three chances per day before the penalty is charged. The scheme also rewards drivers with an additional RM1.50 should they complete any booking, the company said in a statement.