Starting from today (1 September), Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing company, Grab, will be bringing all Trans-cab drivers onto the Grab platform.
This isn’t the first time Grab has partnered with a transport provider. Earlier this year, the company collaborated with SMRT for the latter to enter the private car hiring business.
As Grab’s first collaboration with a taxi operator, they will see about 7,000 Trans-cab drivers using the Grab mobile app exclusively to provide for on-demand passenger bookings.
Grab And Trans-cab
Teo Kiang Ang, Trans-cab’s Managing Director, explains in a press release that over the years, they’ve been hearing positive feedback from their drivers who have used benefited from the Grab platform.
To support their drivers and help them earn a higher income, Teo decided on Grab as he believes that their technology will be able to bring in more ride bookings for Trans-cab drivers.
“We are confident that this partnership, along with our low rental rates, is a win-win situation and will attract more drivers to join our fleet,” he says.
Lim Kell Jay, Head of Grab Singapore mentions that the collaboration with Trans-cab emphasises their commitment to help taxi drivers who form the bedrock of Singapore’s public transport network.
“As the leading ride-hailing app in Southeast Asia, we see value in collaborating with transport stakeholders. We believe such partnerships will help fleet partners scale up efficiently, connecting their drivers to a growing pool of passengers who use the Grab app daily as their preferred booking platform,”
Simultaneously, by having Trans-cab on board, Lim states that they are sealing their leadership position and offering local commuters access to the largest option of Singapore drivers.
Golden Opportunity For Taxi Drivers
Grab started as an app for finding taxis in 2012, but over time has expanded to other vehicles such as private cars and motorbikes. Uber, Grab’s largest competitor, has been in Singapore since 2013 as well.
With the introduction to these apps and their cheaper options, many Singaporean taxi drivers have complained that their only source of income was being taken away by them.
As reported in The Straits Times, The National Taxi Association (NTA) criticised Grab and Uber, mentioning they could also hurt the taxi industry and, ultimately, commuters.
But with this new partnership, taxi drivers are now able to earn a little extra with varied alternatives of picking up their customers through the Grab app.
This also allows Grab drivers to tap into the second largest taxi operator’s customer database to find more commuters.
In other words, it is a win-win situation.
Customers Are Winners Too
Finding a taxi or a car during peak periods still tends to prove a little difficult. Uber hikes up their fare when they have a large number of requests and well other taxis seem to be booked. Customers then have to go through different apps just to get a means to commute.
With this new arrangement however, commuters are able to enjoy the benefit of getting a taxi at a faster speed, even during peak periods.
Bigger Than Uber And Comfort?
With Grab and Trans-cab’s partnership, does it mean that they will be the new leaders in the car service industry?
With so many different choices of cars, motorbikes and taxis it looks like it might just happen, so unless Uber and Comfort decide to band together, it looks like we have a new winner on our hands.