Ride-hailing firm Ryde announced today (March 4) that it is partnering taxi operating company Premier to expand its fleet with 2,000 taxis.
By increasing its driver base, Ryde said that it can better fulfil user demand during peak periods.
Following this partnership, Premier taxi drivers can progressively accept fixed fare and taxi jobs from the Ryde network from today onwards.
This means that Premier taxi drivers can gain more earning opportunities on top of their usual street-hail jobs.
Conversely, Ryde users can expect a shorter waiting time following a faster match rate for bookings.
Unlike drivers from other ride-hailing firms who accept bookings through a dedicated driver app, Premier taxi drivers can easily view and accept real-time jobs via the Ryde app or Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) screens.
This integrated system helps improve the booking flow for taxi drivers so they can make better decisions on accepting bookings with enhancement to their road safety.
Lim Chong Boo, Managing Director of Premier, said that the firm has always been concerned about “drivers having to manage a few devices to support the different app operators.”
Terence Zou, founder and CEO of Ryde Technologies chimed in that such “innovative technical solutions … create tremendous value for everyone — operators, drivers and users.”
The technical solution also enables the entire Premier fleet to access Ryde jobs seamlessly and more efficiently from their MDT, he added.
In line with the new partnership, Ryde will also be removing the service fees for all RydeX and RydeTAXI services.
However, a 3 per cent transaction fee will still be charged for Rydepay jobs. Trips paid with cash will not be charged any additional fees.
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Featured Image Credit: Ryde
