The issue of taxis and ride-hailing services operating across borders without permission from the Malaysian and Singaporean governments has been much talked about recently, and it is a mode of transport that seems to be widely used by citizens of both countries.
Recently, Grab has announced that they have received an operating licence to operate cross-border operations, and confirmed that they will begin the beta phase for cross-border ride-hailing services between the cities of Johor Bahru and Singapore in the near future for selected drivers.
This licence, called the Cross-Border Ride-Hail Service Operator Licence (CRSOL) which was introduced in a collaboration between the Malaysian and Singaporean Ministries of Transport, allows selected drivers to operate in both countries legally.
For Grab drivers in Malaysia and Singapore, they can accept requests to send passengers from the cities of Johor Bahru, Iskandar Puteri, Forest City, Kulai and Senai to any area in Singapore and vice versa.
Grab said it will introduce the cross-border ride-hailing feature through its Advanced Booking feature, which will require customers to make a reservation in advance to use the service. Reservations can be made a day to a week in advance of the date and time of travel.
The pilot service will be launched gradually, starting May 4, 2026. Grab will expand and refine the service as more licensed cross-border taxis are added to the service and with feedback from drivers and passengers in the coming months.
