Grab launches GrabSuperHeroes to encourage limitless mobility

• Ride hailing service partners with MIRM, Challenges Foundation
• Participants will receive a discount of RM3 off for 20 rides per month

IN CONJUNCTION with the International Day of People with Disability and Human Rights Week, Grab Malaysia, the Make It Right Movement (MIRM) and Challenges Foundation have rallied together to create awareness on the importance of limitless mobility for those with restricted mobility with the launch of Grab’s social impact programme, GrabSuperHeroes.

Mary Chen, editor of Challenges Magazine and the founder of Challenges Foundation shared that according to the Malaysian National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015, 11.8% of Malaysians over the age of 18 have some form of disability, with visual impairment being the highest followed by those with difficulty walking.

Grab Malaysia country head Jaygan Fu (pic, right) shared that when Grab was introduced in 2012, their main aim was to provide a safer mode of transportation especially for womenfolk and to elevate the welfare of taxi drivers in Malaysia.

“Since then, we have seen how we are able to leverage on technology and evolve our services to better impact our community. With the advancement of tech, people with hearing or visual impairment can also communicate via computers, laptops and smartphones! They have blogs, social media accounts and online business, what more, being able to book a ride?” said Fu.

Fu went on to add that through feedback from people they meet or via their social media and customer service channels, the homegrown ride hailing service is aware that there are customers with restricted mobility who have are not very reliant on their service to move around town more efficiently and have often given feedback on ways to improve.

“It is with them in mind we are introducing our pilot GrabSuperheroes Programme to help more people with restricted mobility to capitalise on our services and have limitless mobility. They do not need to be reliant on their carers or be concerned about traffic and parking. Let us offer you door to door service and get you to your destination,” said Fu.

GrabSuperheroes Programme

Kicking off in Klang Valley, public will be receiving communications from Grab inviting people with restricted mobility or organisations to register their interest with Grab and they will mobilise their GrabSuperheroes to come on-ground to help download and teach them how to use it.

Beginning with senior citizens and OKU card holders, Grab users under this programme will automatically receive a discount of RM3 off for 20 rides per month. Whilst for current users, they will need to indicate in the online form to be opted into the programme.

Drivers will also be informed that these users are part of the GrabSuperheroes Programme and may require some form of assistance.

“This is just the beginning of a long journey for us. As a ride hailing service, we want to realise our mission to make transportation accessible to all and make a deep social impact to our community. Together with our partners, we have many things lined up in the coming months to continue to create awareness which also includes training our drivers to be more socially aware and the right way to assist their passengers who may have restricted mobility as well as on-ground engagement programmes,” said Fu.

Sharing her experience as a person with restricted mobility, Rachel Siew (pic, above), a law graduate and currently an administration executive/ copywriter with MIRM shared that whilst she is grateful to friends and family who are ever willing to go out of their way to help her get places, she is acutely aware of the struggle to balance her need for assistance versus being able to be independent.

Siew who lives in Subang Jaya and work in Petaling Jaya, shared that using public transport has been a long and cumbersome ordeal and have since resorted to Grab to help her to and from work and also to keep her social calendar occupied.

“I do not want my condition to be an excuse, and like every abled bodied person out there, I have hobbies, aspirations and even a social life! Which is why ride hailing services like Grab has been a blessing for me. It’s very interesting how someone like me can be so much more just because I am more mobile now,” she further added.

For more information about the GrabSuperheroes Programme, please write in to [email protected] 

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