Grab announced today (May 25) that it will raise its ride-hailing fares by S$1 starting from 10am onJune 1. The move comes as an attempt to improve driver earnings, said the ride-hailing giant.
The raise in fares will apply to all of Grab’s transportation services, except for its standard taxi booking service, its carpooling service GrabHitch, and its GrabCoach service, said Grab Singapore’s managing director for transport Andrew Chan in a message to drivers.
Grab said that commissions will not be charged for the $1 increase in base fare, from 1–30 June 2021 to further support its driver-partners during these uncertain times.
It will also be giving back S$1 to users for peak hour rides from 1 to 14 June 2021, with the promo code ‘STAYSAFE’.
It is the firm’s first fare hike since 2017, and the second time Grab is adjusting the prices of its ride-hailing offerings after competition watchdog the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore lifted restrictions on it in November last year.
From April 22 this year, Grab raised the platform fees for GrabFood and GrabMart to S$0.30 per order. Prior to that, the fees were S$0.20.
Grab said that the platform fees will go towards maintaining current features and developing new ones. The fees will go towards investments in three areas — safety, security and efficiency.
Grab’s intentions to go public
Grab announced on April 13 that it intends to go public in the United States in partnership with Altimeter Growth Corp (Nasdaq: “AGC”).
It is expected to be the largest-ever US equity offering by a Southeast Asian company. The combined company expects its securities will be traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “GRAB” in the coming months.
The proposed transactions value Grab at an initial pro-forma equity value of approximately US$39.6 billion (S$53.16 billion) at a PIPE size of more than US$4.0 billion (S$5.37 billion) and will provide Grab with approximately US$4.5 billion (S$6.04 billion) in cash proceeds.
Grab’s plans to list via the SPAC route comes after after talks to merge with Indonesian ride-hailing rival Gojek fell through.
Grab’s decision to become a public company was driven by strong financial performance in 2020, despite COVID-19. At the same time, the company has made significant strides towards profitability, with a key focus on building a resilient business and delivering sustainable growth.
Featured Image Credit: Bloomberg
