12/03/2020

Taxi-hailing app Careem has announced that customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can now enter what3words addresses for their pickup and drop-off points.

Hashim Larry, Careem KSA, AGM said ‘Directing people or finding an address is done in so many different ways in Saudi Arabia – often with mixed results. Using three words and good technology to pinpoint a spot is a game changer for our customers and captains and we are excited to see how this partnership can help Careem give them a much better experience.’

A what3words address is a combination of three words that identifies a specific 3m square in the world. For example, you can find Careem’s Riyadh head office at /// chuckle.readers.path

what3words addresses are simpler to enter into the app than street addresses and take customers and captains exactly where they need to go. They allow people to enter precise locations for places that don’t have street addresses like new builds or beaches and make it easy for them to specify exactly which entrance of a large building, stadium or mall they’d like to be picked up or dropped off at.

Entrance in Jeddah at 3 word address likes.blessing.circling

A customer going to King Abdullah Park, for example, can now request to be dropped off at one of the park’s northern entrances by entering /// computer.variety.needed into the Careem app. Had the customer used the street address ‘King Abdullah Park’, the pin would’ve dropped in the centre of the park and the captain would’ve been routed to a different entrance.

With what3words, customers and captains avoid detours and asking for directions, and Careem can provide more accurate time estimates and better route planning, making customers’ experience smoother.

‘Careem is providing an incredible service to Saudi Arabia and beyond. The app simplifies the way people move around and its partnership with what3words will make the experience even smoother, as customers will know they’re getting picked up and dropped off at precisely the correct location without needing step-by-step directions’ said Chris Sheldrick, what3words CEO and Co-founder.

Dr Abdulla Elyas and Chris Sheldrick at signing ceremony

Find out how to use what3words in Careem or learn more about what3words for ride-hailing and navigation .