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Grab to increase platform fee from 5 May
Platform fees are set to increase to S$0.70 across all ride types.
SINGAPORE – Ride-hailing operator Grab announced that its platform fee for all transport service types will be increased from S$0.30 to S$0.70 starting from 5 May.
In an e-mail to customers on Friday (14 April) night, Grab said the move was in line with platform fees charged by other ride-hailing platforms in Singapore.
"This will support the development of continuous app improvements such as safety features, increased reliability and driver-related benefits," Grab said.
Grab's new platform fee will be on par with rival Gojek. TADA, another ride-hailing company, charges customers S$0.55 for trips that cost up to S$18, while trips that cost more have an additional cost of S$0.75. Meanwhile, Ryde's current platform fee costs S$0.30 cents.
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Grab also laid out its solutions for the driver shortage problem, as there are currently not enough drivers to keep up with surging demand in the city state. The problem has resulted in longer wait times and caused passenger fares to fluctuate more.
To deal with the problem, the company relaunched a revamped version of GrabShare, where two passengers heading in the same direction can share a ride for discounted fares. The new GrabShare will lock all routes in from the time customers are assigned a driver, so passengers will not get any surprise detours along the way. It is also 20 per cent cheaper than regular JustGrab rides.
To tackle the driver supply shortage issue, Grab said it has been recruiting more drivers through new joiner and referral schemes followed by onboarding and training them as quickly as possible.
In addition, the company has also introduced new technology-enabled features, such as Hotspot Navigation, to help its current drivers work more productively to serve more passengers each day. The tool shows drivers where the high passenger demand areas are and navigates them there directly. Grab explained that fares surge less when more drivers enter those areas and passengers there can hopefully get rides faster.
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