ComfortDelGro to introduce new taxi cancellation, waiting fee policy
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To help its customers ease into the changes, ComfortDelGro will implement a waiver period.
PHOTO: COMFORTDELGRO
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SINGAPORE - Singapore’s largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro will introduce new cancellation and waiting fee policies from July 31.
In a Facebook post on July 16 announcing the changes, ComfortDelGro said that charges under the new policies will apply only after a waiver period, during which no charges will be imposed even if the fee conditions are met.
The new rules for the cancellation fee and waiting fee will kick in on Sept 1 and Oct 15 respectively.
The waiver period will allow both customers and drivers to familiarise themselves with the new policies before they are fully enforced, said the transport company.
Under the new cancellation policy, customers are accorded four free cancellations a month, usable only when a taxi has yet to arrive at a pickup point.
After these are used, a $4 fee will be charged.
However, if a taxi has arrived at the pickup point – determined by its GPS data – and a customer cancels the ride, the $4 fee will be charged regardless of the remaining free cancellation quota.
A no-show by passengers, defined as them not being at the pickup point more than five minutes after the taxi arrives, will incur a charge of $5.
A waiting fee will be charged if the taxi waits for the customer for more than four minutes. While the first four minutes of waiting time is free, every subsequent block of five minutes will add $3 to the fare, up to a maximum of $9.
Currently, the fees apply to bookings made via the CDG Zig app only, a spokesperson told ST on July 17.
They will not apply to phone bookings or advance bookings.
Describing its new policies as “fairer”, the transport operator said the move was so “everyone’s time is respected, and drivers are fairly rewarded when plans change at the last minute”.
On its website, ComfortDelGro clarified that the fees are mutually exclusive – a waiting fee will be charged only if the customer completes a trip, while the cancellation or no-show fee is applicable only if the customer fails to complete the trip.
Customers using cashless payment methods will have the fees deducted automatically, while those paying by cash will see the fee added to their next ride’s fare via ComfortDelGro’s Zig app.
ComfortDelGro also assured customers that drivers will also suffer consequences for cancelling, and that “policies are in force to ensure that both parties are treated fairly”.
