Grab Passengers Can Opt to Ride on A Hybrid or Electric Vehicle & Can also Give an Additional $0.10 to Reduce Carbon Footprints

Seems like the Grab logo won’t be the only thing that’s green now in the ride-hailing service.

With the rise of convenience leading more and more Singaporeans to rely on hailing rides to get to where they have to be, it comes with the price of more carbon emissions instead.

So if you’re one of those who use Grab so much that you became a Platinum member but want to do your part for the environment as well, this new initiative may just be the one for you.

JustGrab Green To Launch From 14 July

That’s right, the ride-hailing giant’s joining the green party.

Grab customers will now be able to opt for rides on a hybrid or electric vehicle when they book rides from the central areas of Singapore under the JustGrab Green scheme.

Additionally, they will also be able to donate S$0.10 to various eco-friendly projects, such as carbon offset and solarisation projects in Singapore and the region, reducing their carbon footprint at the same time.

The scheme will launch on 14 July with a new fleet of electric vehicles such as the Hyundai Kona Electric and the Toyota Plus, which have met the A2 emissions standard under the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES).

Grab said that this translates to a 55% reduction of carbon emissions with these vehicles as compared to conventional petrol vehicles.

It’s still a trial service for now, and will operate on the same price structure as the regular JustGrab, where one can pay a flat fare for an assigned taxi or private-hire car.

JustGrab Green will be available at the following central locations for now before slowly expanding to more around the country:

Downtown Core, Marina South, Marina East, Bukit Merah, Outram, Queenstown, Bukit Timah, River Valley, Tanglin, Orchard, Newton, Novena, Toa Payoh, Bishan, Rochor, Kallang, Marine Parade and Geylang.

The Green Programme To Launch As Well

If you’re wondering where exactly your S$0.10 contribution will go, it’s to Grab’s new Green Programme which will also launch in conjunction with JustGrab Green.

The contributions from up to three million rides will fund various green projects, such as an initiative by Grab and Sembcorp Singapore to install solar panels on the roofs of places like community clubs and welfare homes.

Another project by the company in partnership with Shell will involve them purchasing carbon credits from the Katingan Mentaya Project in Indonesia, aimed at forest restoration and the conservation of peatland habitats.

They also have plans to have all vehicles in their fleet running on “cleaner energy” by 2030 as part of their transport sustainability goals.

GrabRentals, their rental service, will also see an expanded fleet to include electric and hybrid vehicles.

The company added that this will be in line with Singapore’s Green Plan which aims to replace internal combustion engine vehicles with cleaner energy alternatives by 2040.

Grab Singapore’s managing director Andrew Tan shared:

“Introducing JustGrab Green and the Green Programme are the first of many steps Grab is undertaking to create solutions to environmental challenges. It is a team effort, and we will continue to examine ways where we, alongside our partners and consumers, can make a net-zero carbon future a reality for Singapore and the region.”

More than S$269 million had also been invested into procuring electric and hybrid vehicles for its rental fleet last month.

Additionally, the company also announced their partnership with Hyundai last month to accelerate adopting electric vehicles here in Southeast Asia.

They’re not the only ones with plans to go green – Gojek also announced plans to turn their entire fleet into electric vehicles by 2030.

SMRT has also joined in with goals of replacing all 1,797 cabs in their current fleet with electric vehicles in the next five years.

Hopefully, we’ll see cleaner roads in the near future.

Featured Image: Yaoinlove / Shutterstock.com