Ride-hailing App Grab now offer a solution inside Japan.

Business travelers around the world navigate new locations and land for their short term stays with hopes that something will be familiar.  Everyone faces the challenge of how to get around.  Taxi’s are always convenient, but they still present challenges.  In some locations there are official and unofficial (sometimes illegal) taxis.  Is a metered ride normal, or should fares be negotiated?  Will credit cards or mobile payments be acceptable ways to pay the fare or is it cash only?  Not to mention making sure to have the right currency or ability to communicate a destination in a foreign language.

Across Southeast Asia, increasingly the same app is providing an easy solution.  Having the convenience of using the existing apps on one’s phone in multiple locations instead of downloading a new one from every tarmac is a dream that every day gets closer to reality.  Today it’s Japan.

Grab has partnered with JapanTaxi so that users of its app can hail rides from local taxis.  In partnership with Splyt Technologies, users can now access rids in over 336 cities across 8 Southeast Asian countries.  First launched in Osaka, the service is currently available in Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo, Nagoya and Okinawa.

The race for gaining a share of ride-hailing customers in Asia keeps getting more competitive.  Other services that are currently operating include Uber and Didi amongst others.