Beginning April 29 this yr, ComfortDelGro taxi drivers will have the ability to take unfulfilled rides on Gojek’s GoCar private-hire automobile service.
On April 23, Gojek Singapore and ComfortDelGro Taxi informed The Straits Instances that they may transfer ahead with the second part of their partnership, which can enable Gojek drivers to tackle unfulfilled ComfortDelGro Taxi rides “within the close to future.”
The partnership, first introduced in November 2022, marks the collaboration between two trade giants: Gojek is among the high ride-hailing corporations alongside Seize, whereas ComfortDelGro is Singapore’s largest taxi operator, with about 9,000 Consolation and CityCab taxis.
On this collaboration, each corporations intention to deal with the scarcity of drivers within the city-state, offering drivers with extra alternatives to earn by accepting extra rides with out requiring them to obtain any extra apps.
Passengers can even profit from experiencing shorter wait occasions for rides on the similar fare price as provided by means of the Gojek app.
To have fun this partnership, Gojek app customers can redeem a promo code to get pleasure from experience reductions of as much as S$8.
How does it work?
A cross-dispatch mannequin might be used, the place rides not taken up by one platform might be despatched to the opposite. Each corporations defined that working on a two-shift system will guarantee a extra constant provide of rides all through the day.
The ComfortDelGro web site states that its drivers’ job acceptance procedures will stay the identical. For example, drivers will have the ability to mechanically settle for jobs through the use of the “auto settle for” perform.
Gojek passengers matched with a ComfortDelGro taxi will see the taxi firm’s icon seem as the motive force’s image, together with the automobile kind and plate quantity.
Rides by means of this partnership are solely flat-fare gigs. Nonetheless, experience fares of greater than $9 will embrace a 7 per cent driver fee, although it doesn’t cowl platform and cost transaction charges.
All additional charges relevant to a GoCar experience will proceed to use to rides fulfilled by ComfortDelGro taxis. For instance, Gojek applies a platform payment of between 60 cents and $1 for each journey.
Clients and drivers share their ideas
Gojek’s partnership with ComfortDelGro comes amid a pointy decline in Singapore’s taxi fleet, which dropped from its peak of 28,736 taxis in 2014 to 13,485 in January this yr.
To account for the drop, the authorities introduced in March that they’d reviewed the Level-to-Level (P2P) transport trade construction, together with altering the regulatory necessities for taxis and private-hire vehicles (PHC).
Notable adjustments embrace extending the statutory lifespan of non-electric cabs from eight to 10 years, in addition to eradicating the requirement for smaller taxi operators to supply call-booking providers.
Some Gojek customers additionally expressed their pleasure for the partnership, hoping that this might be a fuss-free expertise.
In an interview with The Straits Instances, 19-year-old Psychology undergraduate Shariffah Aisyah Aljunied added that ComfortDelGro would possibly get the higher finish of the deal as it’s “not as in style as Gojek.”
Nonetheless, some ComfortDelGro taxi drivers assume in any other case.
One driver identified that retaining the fares for each Gojek and taxis low would discourage him from accepting bookings. One other driver added that the pickup areas are often far-off, and the fares charged don’t match the gap travelled.
He additionally shared his concern that the partnership could enhance the competitors amongst ComfortDelGro’s taxi drivers.
When contacted by The Straits Instances, Gojek declined to reply questions concerning the variety of private-hire vehicles on its platform, how commissions and charges could be break up between the 2 corporations and the present fulfilment price of GoCar rides by Gojek drivers.
ComfortDelGro didn’t reply to their queries on the time of the report.
Featured Picture Credit score: Gojek Singapore, ComfortDelGro
