Grab introduces two new tech features to its driver app as part of its continued commitment to support its driver-partners to earn more.

The two features—sessions and personalized alerts — are the latest additions to a wide range of innovations available to reduce drivers' idle time and enable them to focus on completing more bookings for every hour they spend on the Grab platform.

"Our partners drive to earn and support their families. We understand how every minute online is a potential income opportunity for them. And as the nation faces economic headwinds such as the rising prices of goods, we want to support our partners maximize their time and earnings. With our technology, we are able to help them reduce idle time on the road, and also enable them to focus their energies on completing trips," said Grab Philippines COO Ronald Roda.

"In 2022, Grab driver-partners from across Southeast Asia enjoyed a 3.55-percent reduction in average idle time, compared to that in 2021, helping to further optimize their earnings potential on the platform."

To help Grab driver-partners maximize their online hours and earnings, Grab builds various tech features to empower them to position their vehicles where passengers are so that they can capture as much passenger demand as possible.

The two new tech features are designed to help partners easily identify such high-demand areas:

Sessions enable driver-partners to keep within a predefined geographical area during periods of high passenger demand. Driver-partners can sign up in advance to drive in one of these zones for a fixed period of time (3 to 5 hours), enabling them to only receive bookings within the specific area. This set-up will help them to complete more trips per online hour with shorter trip distances.

Personalized alert is a push notification sent to offline driver-partners when specific areas are experiencing high passenger demand. These are partners who frequent the same areas based on their historical driving patterns, and would not want to miss any good opportunity to earn.