Travelling with young children by e-hailing could soon become less of a logistical headache, with Grab Malaysia introducing its new Kid-Friendly Rides (Beta) service for families with children aged four to 12. Designed in accordance with safety guidelines from the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), the new feature gives families access to selected Grab rides equipped with dedicated booster seats, removing the need to carry a bulky child restraint system when travelling.

Initially available through a limited fleet, the service offers Standard 6-Seater rides with one dedicated booster seat, operated by driver-partners who have received training on the proper use of child seats. The booster seats are supplied by Malaysian child-safety specialist Koopers. “Families should be able to travel with their children with greater peace of mind, without managing the hassle of carrying heavy and cumbersome child seats,” said Rashid Shukor, Executive Director of Grab Malaysia.

“With Kid-Friendly Rides (Beta), we hope to make it easier for families to travel light by offering dedicated booster seats. This reflects a commitment we share with the Ministry of Transport, with MIROS, and with partners like Koopers, to ensure that when families travel, they travel safely, and that children are never an afterthought on the road.”

Malaysia has made the use of child restraint systems (CRS) mandatory since 1 January 2020. However, adoption remains relatively low, highlighting the continuing challenge of turning awareness about child safety into consistent behaviour. MIROS has emphasised the importance of choosing a child restraint appropriate for a child’s size and ensuring it is installed correctly.

According to MIROS, research has found that booster seats can reduce injury risk by 45% among children aged four to eight compared with using seat belts alone. “Protecting children on the road is a shared responsibility,” said Associate Professor Ir. Ts. Dr. Siti Zaharah Binti Ishak, Director-General of MIROS. “MIROS’s CRS guidelines emphasise selecting a suitable restraint for the child’s size and installing it correctly. We welcome this initiative to make child restraints more accessible to families using ride-hailing services and encourage their correct use on every journey.”

For now, Kid-Friendly Rides (Beta) is available exclusively through Advance Booking for airport trips to and from KLIA Terminal 1 and KLIA Terminal 2. Grab plans to expand the service progressively across the wider Klang Valley, followed by Penang and Johor Bahru. To book a Kid-Friendly Ride, users can open the Grab app, select “Car”, then choose the “Advance Booking” option before scheduling their preferred pick-up time.

After entering an airport pick-up or drop-off location, users can select Kid-Friendly Rides (Beta) under either Standard 6-Seater or Grab EV Exec, where available. For Standard 6-Seater bookings, one booster seat is available for a RM10 add-on fee, catering to children aged four to 12. Meanwhile, Koopers Boost Fix booster seats are offered as a complimentary value-added feature on selected Grab EV Exec rides.

The introduction of Kid-Friendly Rides (Beta) forms part of Grab Malaysia’s broader efforts to build a more comprehensive safety ecosystem across its platform. Other initiatives include AudioProtect and Women-Only Rides (Beta), with the company positioning the latest feature as another step towards making safety-related services more accessible to different groups of passengers.

For families, the biggest difference may simply be convenience: instead of planning how to transport a child seat before every airport journey, parents can now book a selected Grab ride with a booster seat already available. As the service expands beyond its initial airport-focused rollout, Kid-Friendly Rides (Beta) could provide another option for families looking to balance the convenience of ride-hailing with the added protection of an appropriate child restraint.