The question that many Uber Drivers were worried about yesterday after the merger of Grab and Uber is finally answered.
What will happen to Uber Drivers who lease their cars from Lion City Rental (LCR)?
LCR is the car leasing arm of Uber and drivers who rent from Lion City Rental are only allowed to provide private-hire service exclusively for Uber. According to Mothership.sg queries to Grab, Grab claimed that Lion City Rental is not included in the sale of Uber assets to Grab.
Lion City Rental made all their hirers even more ‘gan jiong’ when they announced that LCR and UberHUB are closed until further notice.
LCR hirers were panicking as many were locked in long-term contracts of 6 months to 1 year. They were not getting answers and one disappointed driver even took to the air to complain about the lack of transparency over the merger.
There was another group of drivers that were equally worried. These group of drivers were ex-Grab drivers who were banned and removed from the system for various incidents on the Grab platform. The exit of Uber would leave them without a platform to drive for.
Grab has Spoken
In an email to Channel NewsAsia, Grab has confirmed that they will allow drivers who have contracts with Lion City Rental to accept Grab bookings.
They also addressed the issue of suspended drivers. Ex Grab drivers who were terminated or suspended can also appeal their suspension on a case by case basis.
What About Uber and LCR
Drivers with LCR cars should not celebrate too early. Although Grab has opened its arm to welcome drivers with LCR cars, it stands for nothing until Uber and Lion City Rental make their stand clear.
The underlying issue here remains with Uber and Lion City Rental. They are the owners of the vehicle and who stipulates that Lion City Cars are only allowed on the Uber platform. Unless you have their blessings in black and white, having approval from Grab means nothing.
Just in case you forgot, Lion City Rental is not part of the deal between Uber and Grab.
