Singapore's largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro will
launch a dynamic pricing system for its 13,600 cabs from Jan
19.
For customers, this means that fares for Comfort and
CityCab taxis could be lower than the metered rates during off-peak
hours, but also surge during periods of high demand.
The dynamic pricing option for ComfortDelGro taxis will
be offered through the Uber app and a new UberFlash function. The
service dispatches the nearest ComfortDelGro taxi or Uber
private-hire car to the user who requests a ride.
The move to pool the supply of ComfortDelGro taxis and
Uber cars on a common platform follows an alliance between the two
companies announced last month.
The deal, which is still under review by the
Competition Commission of Singapore, will see ComfortDelGro
acquiring a 51 per cent stake in Uber's rental car subsidiary, Lion
City Holdings.
According to a newspaper notice put up by ComfortDelGro
on Thursday (Jan 11), UberFlash charges a base fare of $3, with a
per kilometre rate of 45 cents.
In comparison, the metered rates for ComfortDelGro
taxis are higher, with a base fare of between $3.20 and $3.90, and
a distance charge that works out to 55 cents a kilometre for the
first 10km, and 63 cents per kilometre thereafter.
However, UberFlash fares fluctuate according to demand.
Commuters have lamented that fares can be two to three times more
during peak periods, or when there are MRT disruptions.
ComfortDelGro customers can still go by the meter for
street-hailed cabs and taxis booked via ComfortDelGro's booking
hotline or company app.
Like other Uber products, UberFlash will levy a fee if
passengers are late in meeting their drivers or if they cancel
their bookings.
A 20-cent per minute charge will apply if drivers wait
longer than three minutes at the pick-up location. Customers who
cancel their bookings after five minutes will be charged $6.
There are no such penalties for customers who book
ComfortDelGro taxis via the phone booking system or on
ComfortDelGro's booking app.
An Uber spokesman said on Thursday that the company
will share more details of UberFlash later on.
He said: "We are excited about our partnership with
ComfortDelGro to improve the overall transportation landscape,
giving Singapore more choices to move around at the tap of a
button."
Following ComfortDelGro's tie-up with Uber, all 23,000
taxis in Singapore will offer a dynamic pricing option.
Since March last year, close to 10,000 taxis from the
five other taxi firms - SMRT, Trans-Cab, Premier, Prime and HDT
Singapore Taxi - have started offering dynamic pricing, if rides
are booked through the Grab app.
Singapore University of Social Sciences transport
researcher Walter Theseira said that with all cabs now offering
dynamic pricing, it is likely that the average taxi fare paid
during peak hours will go up, but commuters should benefit
from shorter waiting times.
But whether commuters will have to fork out more than
what a regular taxi charges, with peak-hour surcharges and levies
thrown in, boils down to the day’s demand and supply, he added.
“If it’s a rainy day and the Singapore Grand Prix
season, for example, we can be certain that fares will be higher,
but on another day, when the weather is good and everyone takes
public transport, fares could be lower,” Professor Theseira
said.
While metered fares offer transparency to commuters,
the algorithms used by ride-hailing apps in dynamic pricing do
not.
Prof Theseira said: “To protect consumers, regulations
will have to evolve, to perhaps stipulate some limits on dynamic
pricing, or require companies to provide some back-end
justification to the price surges.”
National Taxi Association executive adviser Ang Hin Kee
said that under the dynamic pricing system, taxi operators need to
ensure that cabbies’ takings are not adversely affected.
Mr Ang said: “If the taxi rental rates are high, and
fares are low, drivers may feel it’s a bad deal and not want to do
the Uber jobs. The difference between UberFlash fares and the
metered rates may need to be topped up through incentives or
subsidised with lower rentals.”
ST
