ComfortDelGro, Grab, Gojek, Tada to retain additional driver fee for rides till Sept 30
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The driver fee is passed on fully to drivers and is not subject to platform commissions.
PHOTO: ST FILE
- ComfortDelGro, Grab, Gojek, and Tada will keep charging extra driver fees on rides until September 30 to help drivers with rising operating costs.
- The fees vary by platform, such as ComfortDelGro's $0.50 or $0.80 per trip and Grab, Gojek, Tada charging at least $0.90 per trip.
- Fuel prices have increased since March due to geopolitical tensions, prompting the National Private Hire Vehicles Association to continue advocating for driver support measures.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Commuters using four taxi or private-hire platforms to book their rides will continue to pay a surcharge until the end of September, to help drivers manage higher operating costs.
In a Facebook post on July 22, the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) said CDG Zig, Grab, Gojek and Tada will extend their respective driver fees until Sept 30.
The NTUC-affiliated association, which represents the interests of private-hire drivers for point-to-point services, added that this decision follows continued engagement with platform operators on drivers’ expenses and operating costs.
ComfortDelGro, the company behind CDG Zig and Singapore’s largest taxi operator, had introduced a driver fee of 50 cents or 80 cents per trip on March 24.
In a separate Facebook post on July 22, ComfortDelGro said the additional fee of 50 cents will be added for fares below $15, and an extra 80 cents added otherwise. The fee applies to trips booked through its app, cross-border rides, limousine car services and hourly trips.
It will also retain a one-cent increase in its rate for distance travelled, till Sept 30. For example, 27 cents will be charged every 400m travelled in a ComfortDelGro Toyota Prius cab, for a trip with a total distance of less than 10km.
Ride-hailing platforms Grab, Gojek and Tada also implemented a 90-cent driver fee in April, with Tada charging $1.20 for trips over $18. The driver fee was first introduced in 2022 to help drivers cope with rising fuel costs, the association said in its post. These fees are passed on fully to drivers and are not subject to platform commissions.
Retail fuel prices are generally higher than they were in March, after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb 28, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy shipping route.
In March, a litre of 95-octane petrol cost between $2.91 and $2.92. It costs $3.36 or $3.37 across the five major petrol station operators – Caltex, Shell, Esso, SPC and Sinopec – as at 1pm on July 23, according to the Price Kaki app. The latest 95-octane petrol prices listed on the app for Cnergy and Smart Energy, both with three petrol stations each, are $2.54 and $2.62 respectively.
The NPHVA said it will regularly engage platform operators to advocate practical measures that support drivers on the ground.
Separately, Ryde, another ride-hailing platform operating here, also charges passengers an additional 50 cents on rides. The base fare support fee was introduced in 2022, also to help offset drivers’ operating costs. The fee was extended in 2025 till the end of 2027.
