GrabShare: The construction of a realtime ridesharing service

Ridesharing is a natural option for increasing the efficiency and availability of transportation, and many factors need to align for ridesharing to successfully meet user needs in the marketplace. This paper explains how some of these issues have been addressed in the creation of GrabShare, a realtime ridesharing service available in an increasing number of Southeast Asian cities including Singapore, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta. From an algorithmic point of view, the central topic is the scheduling system, which, given passenger bookings and vehicle locations, assigns passengers to vehicles and creates routes for those vehicles to follow. Other crucial factors include pricing, a navigable and reliable user experience, a system architecture robust to rejections and cancellations, and computationally tractable use of maps and traffic resources. A continuing dedication to understanding each city's individual needs and challenges, and persistent attention to user feedback, is also vital. This paper gives an account of these areas, and attempts to give an organic overview of how GrabShare helps to serve customers as part of an integrated suite of transportation services throughout Southeast Asia.