More expensive GrabCab, Strides Premier and Prime Taxi metered rides amid rising fuel costs

SINGAPORE – GrabCab, Strides Premier and Prime Taxi will increase their metered fares from March 30 to May 31 in response to rising fuel costs, the companies said.

Trans-Cab is the only taxi operator that said it is not raising its fares. Instead, it implemented a vehicle rental rebate of $3, which took effect from March 10 and will continue until April 6.

For Grab’s taxi arm, a short journey of around 4km from Novena to Orchard will cost about eight cents more, while a longer trip of around 12km from Ang Mo Kio to City Hall will add 28 cents to the fare.

Long-distance journeys, such as a 30km one from Woodlands to Changi Airport, will cost about 80 cents more.

In a statement on March 23, a GrabCab spokesperson said the increase will apply to all metered taxi rides, whether they are hailed on the street or booked through Grab’s app.

The unit fare will rise from 26 cents to 27 cents for every 45 seconds of waiting, every 400m travelled between 1km and 10km, and every 350m travelled beyond 10km.

The flag-down fare is unchanged – $4.60 for a four-seater vehicle and $4.80 for a six-seater ride.

Strides Premier and Prime Taxi will also charge passengers 27 cents – up one cent – for every 45 seconds of waiting, every 400m travelled up to 10km, and every 350m beyond 10km.

For Prime’s premium category of vehicles, it will cost 39 cents, up one cent, for the same distance-time rates.

Flag-down fares on Prime’s vehicles will remain as they are, ranging from $4.60 to $5.

Prime Taxi’s spokesman said the temporary fare adjustment, coupled with fuel vouchers from the operator, will help make rising fuel costs more manageable for drivers.

Strides Premier’s flag-down fare is also unchanged, and set at $4.60 for most vehicles in its fleet, except for the MG5, which has a flag-down fare of $4.80.

“The full amount collected from this adjustment will be passed directly to driver-partners to help offset higher fuel expenses,” said Ms Khoo Gui Ju, general manager of Strides Premier’s vehicle leasing business, in response to queries.

The company’s in-house fuel station will continue to offer prices that are up to 35 per cent lower than those offered by major brands, she added.

Grab said in its statement that the fare increase is part of efforts to ensure that drivers can “continue to operate sustainably while fuel prices remain volatile”.

It added that fuel vouchers were distributed to all GrabCab taxi drivers the week before to provide them with immediate assistance.

A Trans-Cab spokeswoman said the firm’s rental rebate is to help drivers manage the impact of rising fuel costs and ease their financial burden.

She added that these support measures will be constantly reviewed.

The fare increases of GrabCab, Strides Premier and Prime Taxi follow a similar one announced by Singapore’s largest taxi operator, ComfortDelGro, on March 17.

Besides implementing a one-cent increase in metered fares for distances and waiting times, ComfortDelGro will also introduce a driver fee for bookings made on its Zig app.

This fee is set at 50 cents for fares below $15 and 80 cents for fares of $15 or more.

The changes will take effect from March 24 to May 31.

Earlier in March, ComfortDelGro also began to absorb part of the increase in fuel costs at its in-house pumps, in response to petrol station operators raising the prices of fuel amid the war in the Middle East.

As at March 20, the prices of 95-octane grade fuel were set at $3.47 per litre at Caltex, Shell, Esso and Sinopec petrol stations, according to data from the Price Kaki app developed by the Consumers Association of Singapore. This is before any discounts are applied.

The same grade of petrol cost $2.88 a litre at most petrol stations on Feb 28, when the conflict broke out.

Diesel prices have similarly shown dramatic increases, with a litre costing $3.73 at Caltex, Shell and Esso as at March 20.

This is higher than the peak of $3.19 per litre that was recorded in March 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine intensified.

Earlier in March, ST reported that the four ride-hailing platforms did not comment on whether rising fuel prices would eventually result in higher fares.