*Updated 29 September 2017*
In the latest update with regards to Grab aggressive offers to attract Comfort Delgro Taxi Drivers, more than 3,000 comfort drivers have registered Grab account and grab has extended the promotion to 6th October 2017.
Comfort is already facing strong competition with a reducing fleet. If the 3000 comfort drivers do switch side, then we its going to be a blow to the Uber alliance. It has made effort to counter the offer to retain the drivers by giving rental rebates of $3,600 over 6 months which in fact is a less attractive package.
However for Comfort drivers that is thinking seriously of switching over to become Private Hire Driver, you might want to take into the effect of Taxation to your earnings as Private hire driver do get as much tax deductible items as compare to taxi.
Previously It was reported in Lianhe ZaoBao that an estimated 1,500 Comfort Delgro Taxi Drivers have registered with Grab ever since the aggressive Grab Exclusive promotion to attract comfort drivers to join them.
However, the reported number does not give a detailed breakdown on whether these drivers are jumping ship to join the other taxi companies such as HDT Taxi, converting from driving a taxi to becoming a private-hire driver or just an expression of interest.
According to industry statistics, Comfort Delgro is the largest taxi operator and has a fleet of more than 15,000 Taxi. Like most taxi operators in Singapore, Comfort Delgro faces a daunting task of reducing the unhired rate of taxis. The Straits Times reported that unhired taxi rate hit a high of 9.1% in the early months of 2017, almost double that of 2016.
Bloomberg reported that Singapore private-hire market is extremely important to Uber and its new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. It is a market where Uber has invested heavily and received proper regulatory approval. It is also one of the few markets where they have set up their own rental partner company, Lion City Rental, to supply vehicles for rental to their drivers. This makes Singapore a priority for Uber in Asia. Uber would not allow Uber Singapore to end up like Uber China where Uber surrenders to Didi Chuxing after incurring many years of massive losses.
Uber is also actively recruiting drivers to join their platform by dangling huge discount with the Lion City Rental Suresave rental program. They are also making changes to help their drivers, making driving for Uber a better experience.
The Grab promotion has been extended to Friday, 6th October, due to overwhelming response. Remaining drivers might want to consider this seriously as comfort has not been able to response effectively with attractive offers to retain the drivers.
Thinking of switching from driving a Taxi to private-hire? Read up more on Taxi vs Private Hire which is better to make a living and the difference in driving for both.
