COMMENT: Grab's 'Quiet Ride' offers users in Malaysia an empty experience

KUALA LUMPUR — Grab Malaysia recently began testing out a new service known as "Quiet Ride," in which passengers can request to not have their driver engage in conversation with them during their trip.

After securing their ride booking, passengers only need to respond to an automated message in the Grab Chat stating that they would prefer a quiet journey.

If you found yourself thinking, "great, now I don't have to engage in unnecessary small talk", you're not the only one who feels that way.

Initially, the introvert in me rejoiced reading about the new feature. After a long day at work, all I want to do is hop into my Grab ride, watch an episode of Love is Blind (I am all for trashy TV) or reply to the thirty-something messages on my WhatsApp group chats.

I frequently book Grab rides, so I decided to try the feature to see what value it adds to the customer's journey experience.

The booking procedures were the same: you key in your destination, pick up location and book a ride. When a driver accepts the booking, you get an automated message asking if you would like to opt for a quiet ride. You have to manually type it into the message chat, so I typed in "Quiet Ride" and waited for the car to arrive.

When the Grab car arrived, the driver checked with me to confirm my name and destination and even asked if the temperature of the air conditioner was okay.

That was our only exchange until I reached my destination when he said, "Have a good day", as most other drivers do.

When trying the new feature, I realised this experience was the same as most of my other Grab rides: Quiet.

While the driver still asked the basic questions, we only talked a little.

In the past, there have been very few times when a Grab driver would initiate a conversation, and it’s usually to ask me where I'm from and what I like about Malaysia. An average of 9 out of 10 of my Grab rides have been conversation-less even before introducing this feature.

After my car ride, I couldn’t help but think, what exactly is the use of this new feature?

Was there any research put into this, or are we merely technologising everything just for the sake of it?

The massive reliance on apps, especially after the pandemic, has made it easier to do almost anything online with minimal human interaction.

My issue is that communication is part of human nature, and the months of lockdown have already affected how we interact, making us more socially awkward and comfortable with our solitude.

Is encouraging more of that a good thing? I don't think so.

The choice by Grab to offer a silent option to its users is a fundamental misinterpretation of the function of what a driver does.

A few years ago, experienced drivers were considered a treasure of profound knowledge of the country's beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur and other travel destinations.

To me, the only difference the “Quiet Ride” feature makes is promoting silence. It is as if I am buying my way out of interacting with the drivers through an app instead of just communicating that I have had a long day at work and would rather not chat.

As someone with a certain degree of social anxiety and a woman who sometimes needs to be vigilant when riding with a stranger, I understand why this feature would be helpful, but from personal experience, almost all my Grab rides so far have been “quiet”, and while this feature might have significant benefits in other parts of the world, I feel that it hasn't added anything to my experience when riding with Grab in Malaysia.

I would much rather see their innovative effort put into solving issues related to the surge in booking prices, the shortage of drivers, taking a long time to book, and connectivity problems.

In the era of "social" media, this “Quiet Ride” feature was nothing more than an empty experience which promotes an anti-social society.

If you want to ride in silence, simply let your driver know.

These conversations with our Grab drivers might not be life-changing, but they fulfil a basic human need: social Interaction.

Huda Hekmat is an educator, content writer, and Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She is currently doing her masters in Educational Psychology. When she isn't teaching, writing, or trying to armbar her fellow gym mates, you can find her reading a thriller, watching a stand-up comedy, or on the hunt to find the best nasi lemak in KL. Views expressed are the writer's own.

Do you have a story tip? Email: malaysia.newsroom@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.