Ride-hailing start-up Grab wants to solve traffic problems with helicopters

by Dramelin 12:30 AM 0 comments

Southeast Asian ride-hailing start-up Grab could be taking to the skies in a bid to improve urban mobility in one of the region`s most congested cities.
The company is in the process of piloting a helicopter service in Indonesia, and Grab CEO and Co-Founder Anthony Tan discussed the initiative with CNBC`s "Managing Asia.
" GrabHeli services, which make use of helicopter rides as a way to get around Jakarta`s traffic problems, were offered to selected users in Indonesia in June this year as part of the start-up`s fifth anniversary celebrations, Grab said in a statement on its website.
"There are markets where traffic is clearly a problem for the people.
Even the governments have shared that it costs the countries billions every year in GDP," Tan said.
One of those countries is Indonesia— Grab`s largest market in terms of users.
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is notorious for its traffic jams, with road congestion in the city reportedly costing the economy 65 trillion rupiah ($4.
87 billion) every year.
Commuters in Jakarta can spend an additional 48 minutes each day when traveling during peak period, according to the TomTom Traffic Index.
And while Grab`s existing GrabBike service targets Jakarta`s traffic problem by letting users get around more quickly on a nimbler mode of transport, motorbikes, a helicopter service could speak to users looking for an upscale experience.