Ride-Hailing Apps/News/Discussion

• bowah

  27 Jun 15, 08:55

  Funny leh, this morning, many ting ting ting on my cab...why never use grabcar....lols
• Reliefdriver4u

  27 Jun 15, 09:19

  theae are real pax, treasure them

• bowah

  30 Jun 15, 16:52

  real pax?? but all use nets and cabcharges card one...like this, limpek how to call bak bak?
• Reliefdriver4u

  2 Jul 15, 08:05

  Originally posted by bowah:

  real pax?? but all use nets and cabcharges card one…like this, limpek how to call bak bak?

  endure 2 days , money come in

• bowah

  2 Jul 15, 15:22

  Since 18yo army days, already endure until now liao...bo bian..PCC lor
• Reliefdriver4u

  3 Jul 15, 15:47

  GrabTaxi tying up with car rental firm to offer on-call cabs

   

  

  Transport app provider GrabTaxi is tying up with a rental company to grow a fleet of on-call taxis. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

  Published

  Jun 6, 2015, 7:52 am SGT

  Christopher Tan Senior Transport Correspondent

  Transport app provider GrabTaxi is tying up with a rental company to grow a fleet of on-call taxis.

  The move follows an initiative by rival Uber, which has started its own fleet of such taxis. These cabs are not allowed to ply for passengers, but cater to a growing cohort of commuters who hail a cab with their phones.

  The Straits Times understands that GrabTaxi has joined hands with leading rental and leasing company Prime. It is gunning for a fleet of 600 by the end of the year, with the first cabs rolling out in about two months' time. In the longer term, it is looking at 2,000 cars.

  GrabTaxi general manager Jerry Lim said: "We are still not looking at owning our own assets. So unlike the Uber model, we are not going to be in competition with the rental companies, but working with them to push out vehicles."

  Trade observers said the new operating model offers app providers a more lucrative revenue stream than the 30 cents they make from each taxi booking.

  As for Prime, it makes money from leasing cars to drivers. For instance, the brand-new Toyota Corolla Axio Hybrid is $80 per day, versus a rental of $105 if the car were a regular taxi.

  Prime group chairman Neo Nam Heng admits that the venture would cannibalise the company's taxi business (operated under Prime Taxi), but said "if I don't do it, others will".

  He predicts this so-called parallel taxi service is the future. "There are drivers who don't want to ply the streets looking for fares, who don't want to join queues, who are put off by all the standards and requirements," Mr Neo said. "They prefer to sit in a coffee shop, waiting for calls to come."

  He added that this new venture allows him to grow his fleet, since increase in taxi fleet size is restricted to 2 per cent a year (if an operator meets standards).

  Industry watchers expect the scheme to be attractive to taxi drivers who dislike high taxi rental rates and plying 300km to 500km a day for fares. Hence it will compete keenly with taxi companies for drivers.

  Cabby Henry Tay, 45, who has been driving a taxi for eight years, said: "Competition is good, but it must be fair competition."

  He pointed out that these parallel taxi services do not have to meet stringent regulatory standards, nor do their drivers have to undergo training. "Also, my worry is whether the low rental will be permanent - or will they also jack up everything one day?"

  Transport academics like National University of Singapore professor Lee Der-Horng said that if these app companies are upping the competition, then the incumbent operators "should think through necessary actions in responding to the wave of change".

  ComfortDelGro, Singapore's biggest taxi firm, seems nonchalant though. Its spokesman said: "Demand for our call bookings remains strong as we invest in new apps and service enhancements." Last year, it clocked a record 35.6 million bookings - 10 per cent more than the previous record in 2013.

  [email protected]

• Reliefdriver4u

  3 Jul 15, 15:55

  

• Reliefdriver4u

  4 Jul 15, 06:44

  

• foolsh_2000

  4 Jul 15, 11:20

  Now GT all can eat grass alrdy,even their default change to grab car.they r actively promoting gc
• bowah

  6 Jul 15, 09:06

  haha, now they are starting to own tangible asset, then become like a pte car rental company. No wonder now cdg calls keep ting ting ting
• luckycabby

  6 Jul 15, 11:15

  Originally posted by bowah:

  haha, now they are starting to own tangible asset, then become like a pte car rental company. No wonder now cdg calls keep ting ting ting

  Not owning tangible assets lah. What for do that? CDG calls are getting lesser for me. Why?

• bowah

  7 Jul 15, 13:40

  If you join venture with Prime for car, it must be a 50/50 ownership, and that 2000 cars order is a fix asset, Prime is not going to be that stupid to hold all these cars when all of a sudden, Grab said, oh, now we change to Prix car rental, so goodbye, then prime lan lan hv to absorb the 2000 car ar??? business must have liability one hor, otherwise, many can end up bankrupt, then, become Taxi drivers. Cdg calls where got get lesser, they hit millions every month leh, grab is only complmenting cdg calls so as to give more option to the public mah, if your cdg got less call, then use grab lah, same same mah, it does not mean driving cdg cannot use grab, it just said MDT, taxis, meter are the property of Cdg
• Taxilim88

  7 Jul 15, 15:45

  Originally posted by bowah:

  If you join venture with Prime for car, it must be a 50/50 ownership, and that 2000 cars order is a fix asset, Prime is not going to be that stupid to hold all these cars when all of a sudden, Grab said, oh, now we change to Prix car rental, so goodbye, then prime lan lan hv to absorb the 2000 car ar??? business must have liability one hor, otherwise, many can end up bankrupt, then, become Taxi drivers.

  Cdg calls where got get lesser, they hit millions every month leh, grab is only complmenting cdg calls so as to give more option to the public mah, if your cdg got less call, then use grab lah, same same mah, it does not mean driving cdg cannot use grab, it just said MDT, taxis, meter are the property of Cdg

  aiyoh unker...u think marriage arh? everything 50/50.

  Grab no assets but got customer base and software.

  Prime got assets but dun have customer base and dun want to invest in software.

  So both hold hands lor...win win win.

• luckycabby

  7 Jul 15, 16:22

  Originally posted by bowah:

  If you join venture with Prime for car, it must be a 50/50 ownership, and that 2000 cars order is a fix asset, Prime is not going to be that stupid to hold all these cars when all of a sudden, Grab said, oh, now we change to Prix car rental, so goodbye, then prime lan lan hv to absorb the 2000 car ar??? business must have liability one hor, otherwise, many can end up bankrupt, then, become Taxi drivers.

  Cdg calls where got get lesser, they hit millions every month leh, grab is only complmenting cdg calls so as to give more option to the public mah, if your cdg got less call, then use grab lah, same same mah, it does not mean driving cdg cannot use grab, it just said MDT, taxis, meter are the property of Cdg

  They don't own any physical assets. Anthony Tan already said that. It is a JV like Taxilim mentioned.

  I still feel CDG calls are getting lesser, definitely less than GT. Maybe it is just me?

• bowah

  7 Jul 15, 16:54

  There are un mentioned business that many still do not understand, all legal stuff must be spell out before putting it on the dot, as for these case, Prime is also worry about it investment, which is hardware, grab only provide the software, which can be retract easily if anything goes wrong. So, the liability lies more on Prime. Therefore, in find the niche, 50/50 is alway a good negotiation to start with in any business venture. I believe Prime legal business services would had look into it When you put it as we are not looking at owning asset does not imply you do not have asset or not wanting to own asset, not owning refer to a share ownership, so you need to understand business from a businessman perspectives. If I buy a car and borrow from a bank, I can said, I dun own any asset, it still belongs to the bank until all obligation are clear, but, of course in layman term, people will said, my car.
• FireIce

  8 Jul 15, 01:07

  Uber price surge during train disruption irks users

   

   

• Reliefdriver4u

  8 Jul 15, 07:58

  THANKS TO SMRT, MY UBER RIDE HOME COST ME OVER $100

  Submitted by farhan on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 10:55pm

  

  Have you ever travelled home in Singapore this expensive? Only when you are desperate to get home while the country's main train lines are down during the peak hour, the free buses are no where in sight, the public buses are packed to the neck, and the taxi queues are as long as buying Hello Kitty, that you'll have no choice but to book a taxi. Then again, using the Grab Taxi app failed as there was no available taxis so i had to use Uber.

  Because they charge 2.8x times of the original fare. It is 'take it or leave it'. At CBD area, the demand for taxi was so high that there are ppl who had to pay up to 4x times the original fare.

  Yes, though our country is small, Singaporeans rely on the train systems heavily. I had to stop along the way back to pickup my dad who was stranded at Toa Payoh and my brother at Yishun.

  Dear SMRT since it is a mistake on your part, you can't compensate time. Compensate me my money.
  
  - More at AllSingaporeStuff.com http://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/thanks-smrt-my-uber-ride-home-cost-me-over-100
  FB: http://fb.com/allsgstuff

  - See more at: http://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/thanks-smrt-my-uber-ride-home-cost-me-over-100#sthash.Sskr7JYk.dpuf
• Reliefdriver4u

  8 Jul 15, 07:59

  

• getcarter

  8 Jul 15, 08:36

  Typical sporean mentality 

  Reach hm than cum complain lol 

• bowah

  8 Jul 15, 14:52

  Same mah, I also reach home than pang sai. What you expect him to do? he is travelling home and dunno exactly the fares, and also do not hv a laptop with him, how to complain?? then reach liao, blame this and that, kpkb here and there, then all decided to complain...good mah, at least make SMRT wake up the farking idea. Ah Lui and Ah Jo can go holiday together liao
• getcarter

  8 Jul 15, 15:26

  Hi all,

   

  I don't own a car so I have been taking taxis extensively, especially when with my family. It was until recently that I started learning about Uber and GrabCar, and decided to go ahead and try them.

   

  For those who are interested, here's my personal experience with both apps. Your experience could be different, so feel free to give your own feedback too.

   

  GRABCAR

  A new service offered by GrabTaxi, with the main difference that the vehicle that picks you up will not be a taxi, but a 'private' car with a driver who most likely doesn't have a taxi vocational license.

   

  90% of my rides were in Toyota vehicles, others being Honda. Similarly, 90% of the cars are rented instead of owned, one reason being the high cost involved in converting a personal vehicle's insurance to a commercial one (heard premium is 1.6k to 2k per year). Car condition wise, very clean and comfortable. No complaint at all.

   

  90% of the drivers I've met are young (less than 30), one reason being that GrabCar's criteria is as long as you own the driving license and have passed the 1-year 'P' Plate, you are eligible to be a GrabCar driver. This can be a pro or con, as younger drivers are more lively and chatty, and less likely to bore you with politics and the like. They are usually less familiar with the routes though, and rely heavily on GPS. This wouldn't be much of a problem if you are not rushing for time however, as the fares are calculated and fixed upfront, before you have even called for a GrabCar.

   

  With this fare structure, you have the freedom to decide if you wish to take Uber/Taxis (fares are run on a meter) or GrabCar. Fares for shorter routes are more or the less the same, while for longer routes, GrabCar could be more expensive than Uber/Taxis.

   

  PROMOTION: Key in Promo Code 'GCGSS' before you send your booking, to get a $5 off your GrabCar ride. Limited to 3 times' usage per user, till 26th July 2015.

   

  To download, search for 'GRABTAXI' in your App Store.

   

  UBER

  Uber has been around in Singapore longer than GrabCar, so it seems that they are more Uber drivers than GrabCar, though more drivers are using both apps to look for passengers (both companies' did not seem to restrict them from doing so).

   

  As such, Uber drivers are generally older and more experienced with the roads, since they must be at least 25 years old and have 3 years of driving experience to join Uber. This would be an advantage when you need to get to a place as soon as possible and avoid jams or heavy traffic, especially when Uber fares are calculated based on distance and time traveled.

   

  Besides the fare structure, another significant difference between Uber and GrabCar is that Uber requires a Credit Card for registration. On the positive side, this means that transactions are cashless and will be very handy when you are out of cash and need a quick ride home. It may also mean registered passengers could be lesser so driver-to-passenger ratio should be higher, meaning that it's easier for a passenger to successfully get a Uber car.

   

  Like GrabCar, Uber does not have peak hour surcharges, so their fares would be cheaper than taxis during those times. How Uber compensates the lack of peak hours is by something called 'Surge', where the fares will be more expensive by a certain percentage (will be indicated on your app before you book) when your vicinity has a high demand for Uber bookings during that time.

   

  PROMOTION: When signing up Uber, enter 'vincentc1267ue' as Promo Code and you will get $20 off your first ride.

   

  To download, search for 'UBER' in your App Store.

   

  Hope these information help! You never know when you may need to book a ride via Uber and GrabCar! (e.g. last night's SMRT trains breakdown)

• Reliefdriver4u

  9 Jul 15, 14:40

  Now its free market time ...

  No need to depend on uber or grab, just state your own price !

  

• bowah

  9 Jul 15, 18:53

  One for all and ALL for ONE.
• Keepthechange666

  10 Jul 15, 21:41

  This Jerome can last for more than 3 months, I salute him.....

  Follow limo eh idea, but collect peanut per trip.....

  When he realised, everyday, time just tickle away, he will know," LJ, limpek is pig, all the while doing charity"......

• bowah

  13 Jul 15, 08:57

  Aiya, brother brother, all of us were once pig too, then slowly become tiger, some even become king kong. So, let those newbies learn the hard way lah, they want to be stylish, hero, big star...up to them, but no sooner, like you said, they will come to realize that passengers are all laughing at him, then maybe, they will become more down to earth. In Singapore, unlike in the west, innovation and creativity needs to be qualified, not suka suka you play the game and authorities keep quiet and happily let go one hor.