Earlier this week, Grab announced that they will include social carpooling service Grabhitch into the JustGrab booking system as a secondary option for riders.
Riders will be redirected to the GrabHitch option for a suitable match when all private-hire cars and taxis are fully occupied. Riders will still be paying the GrabHitch fare, which is 20 to 40 percent lower than an average JustGrab trip.
Under LTA regulations, the fees collected by the Driver for each carpooling trip should not exceed the cost that is required to provide that trip.
GrabHitch goes from advance booking to on-demand service
GrabHitch is a social carpooling service for private-car owners to offer a lift to riders for a token fee to cover petrol cost and must be booked in 15 minutes to 7 days in advance. The service is set to become an on-demand service when it is offered as an alternative to the JustGrab system.
GrabHitch is a not-for-profit service and Grab does not take any commission of the fee from the platform. Unlike private-hire drivers who require a Private Hire Car Driver Vocational Licence (PDVL), GrabHitch is exempted from the requirement. Anyone with a car and valid licence can register to be a GrabHitch Driver.
LTA to review the move by Grab
According to TODAY, LTA issued a statement that they are in discussion with Grab on this issue to evaluate if it falls within the regulatory framework.
LTA highlighted that although Grabhitch falls outside of Private Hire car framework, certain conditions must still be met.
Grab double up to dominate the market
With the induction of GrabHitch into its JustGrab booking system, the pool of vehicles on the platform would double up to more than 100,000. This is twice the number of vehicles when JustGrab was launched in early 2017. With more vehicles and options in the system, Grab will seek to dominate the market and become the leader in the ride-hailing service in Singapore.
As for the Private Hire Driver Community, this is a supply and demand game. with the increased inventory we are concerned it might affect the incentives. We are watching closely on how this develop and will update accordingly.
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