LINKED ACCOUNTS FOR TEENS
To ensure users aged 13 to 17 travel safely on rides, their Grab accounts can soon be linked to an adult’s Grab for Family account.
Teens using the feature will have extra safety measures such as PIN verification.
Upon boarding a private-hire car, teens will have to get a PIN code from the driver and enter it into their own app. The ride starts only if the PIN matches.
This ensures that teens don’t get into the wrong car with the wrong driver, said Grab in a news release on Tuesday. Top-rated drivers will also be assigned as a priority for these teens.
Grab’s “Audio Protect” feature, which records sound during the ride for safety purposes, will also be turned on during rides with teens.
Generative AI will soon be added to this feature to “detect in real-time if there is anything dangerous happening in the car, so we can intervene immediately”.
The existing Grab for Family account currently allows for family members to join only if they are 18 years old and above, and is available only to Singapore Grab users, according to Grab’s website.
It allows users to know where their loved ones, such as ageing parents, are when they have boarded a private-hire vehicle, and can also let the user message the driver in a three-way chat, among other features.
“Our technology will detect, and flag, if there is unusual activity on a trip – such as a deviation, unplanned stop or premature termination,” the company added.
Grab for Family and the inclusion of teens will be rolled out across different countries starting in May.
