GrabCab will have three years to progressively expand its fleet to 800 taxis. - ST
SINGAPORE: Ride-hailing giant Grab has been awarded a street-hail operator licence, paving the way for it to become Singapore’s sixth taxi operator.
The licence - awarded to GrabCab, a subsidiary of Grab’s rental arm GrabRentals - will start from April 9 and is valid for 10 years, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on April 2.
Under the licence, GrabCab will have a grace period of three years to progressively expand its fleet to meet the minimum fleet size requirement of 800 taxis, noted LTA.
LTA said that GrabCab’s entry into the street-hail industry will provide drivers and commuters with more choices and is expected to boost the supply of taxis.
The authority added that GrabCab will need to comply with the conditions of its licence, including meeting LTA’s safety standards and ensuring that partnership arrangements with drivers are non-exclusive in nature.
GrabCab must also ensure that its taxis are easily identifiable by street-hail customers, including having a prominent roof-top sign and a distinctive livery scheme.
Its vehicle models must be approved by LTA, and meet requirements, such as having enough boot space to carry a folded wheelchair or luggage.
Its street-hail services must also follow the same taxi fare structure components as other street-hail operators, and its fare must be prominently displayed, so that passengers are informed of the applicable fares, said LTA.
Grab’s foray into the taxi industry will make it the sixth taxi company in Singapore, after Comfort, CityCab, Trans-Cab, Strides Premier and Prime.
The five taxi operators here operate about 13,000 cabs.
Comfort, which is owned by ComfortDelGro taxi, has 6,257 cabs, according to the latest taxi fleet figures published by LTA in January. It has been operating since 1970.
CityCab, also owned by ComfortDelGro Taxi, has a fleet of 2,063 taxis. It started operating in 1995.
Having operated in Singapore since 2003, Trans-Cab has a fleet of 2,077 taxis.
As a result of a merger between Strides Taxi and Premier Taxi in 2023, Strides Premier has a combined fleet of around 2,044 taxis.
Prime Taxi, operated by diversified motor group Prime, is Singapore’s smallest taxi operator with about 545 cabs, including a sizeable number of limousine taxis. It started operating in 2007. - The Straits Times/ANN
