Gojek to adjust incentive scheme to help drivers cope with tightened Covid-19 measures

Gojek said it will be reducing the number of points drivers need to earn to qualify for the rebates from Thursday (May 20) to June 14. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

SINGAPORE - Ride-hailing firm Gojek will be adjusting its incentive scheme to make it easier for private-hire car drivers on its platform to qualify for service fee rebates.

This comes after several taxi operators here lowered their daily rental fees as drivers saw earnings plummet after the latest round of Covid-19 restrictions kicked in on Sunday.

Gojek said it will be reducing the number of points drivers need to earn to qualify for the rebates from Thursday (May 20) to June 14. These points are earned based on trip fares and whether a driver completes trips during peak hours.

Gojek currently charges a 20 per cent service fee on drivers' earnings.

With the new adjustments, drivers who earn 15 points will only need to pay a 10 per cent fee, while drivers who earn 50 points will not have to pay any service fee at all.

Drivers would usually have to earn 20 and 80 points respectively to qualify for these rebates. Gojek said it expects the number of drivers who will not need to pay any service fee to more than double.

It did not say how many drivers currently qualify for the full rebate.

In a statement to The Straits Times, Gojek Singapore's general manager Lien Choong Luen said the firm is "more committed than ever" to looking after drivers' needs and safeguarding their well-being and earnings stability.

Mr Lien said Gojek is also offering free car fogging and sanitisation services for all its drivers and insurance coverage of up to $6,900 for drivers diagnosed with Covid-19. These drivers will also have their vehicle rental waived if they are in Gojek's vehicle rental programme.

On Tuesday (May 18), ComfortDelGro, Singapore's largest taxi operator, raised its daily taxi rental waiver to 50 per cent per taxi until June 13 amid expectations that taxi demand will fall significantly during this period of heightened alert.

Meanwhile, it was reported that SMRT Taxi and TransCab have also lowered their daily rental fees by $5 in response to the heightened alert measures.

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