Country head of Grab Malaysia Sean Goh said GrabBike was expanding into Malaysia after its success in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

In fact, Goh said, since Jan 3, the GrabBike app had been tested out in a pilot scheme within a 10km radius from passenger pick up locations in two areas – one comprising KLCC, Bukit Bintang, Pudu and Chow Kit and the other made up of Wangsa Maju, Gombak and Danau Kota.

GrabBike currently has about 300 rider-partners, both male and female. Goh said they had passed stringent background checks and had attended a safety training course, as safety was their priority. Both riders and pillion riders are covered by personal accident insurance, according to Goh

He added that male and female rider bookings were segmented separately so that a female client would get a female rider. Also, for safety reasons, cash bookings for the service between 9pm and 2am will be disabled.

Goh said a minimum fare of RM4, inclusive of a 30 sen service fee, would be charged per ride for a distance of 3km. A fee of 55 sen per km will be charged for each subsequent kilometre travelled until 5.5km. For distances exceeding 5.5km, however, the charge is RM1/km with surge pricing during high demand periods.

Goh said: “Grab aims to develop new initiatives and modules to raise the bar on safety standards for bike-hailing and on-demand delivery services on the platform, including GrabBike, GrabFood, GrabExpress and GrabMart.”

GrabBike is the largest bike e-hailing service in Southeast Asia. The Singapore-based e-hailing giant is the second company to offer the service after Dego Ride had its re-launch on Jan 1.

Another bike e-hailing service provider, Gojek of Indonesia, is also expected to enter the Malaysia market soon.