This New Taxi-Like Service Costs Just $5 to Any Destination

With all the innovative business growing in Singapore, it’s almost mandatory to keep up with time and technology, or we will be losing out. Businesses such as Uber and Grab have been so highly demanded by our people that more of such companies are set up.

And fans of carpooling should be thrilled to hear this good news – SWAT, a new ridesharing app that offers $5 FLAT RATES to any destination.

More about them
Well, we believe you already understand the concept of ridesharing. Similar to Uberpool and GrabHitch, SWAT features the same concept and is a locally developed on-demand app created by Ministry of Movement Ptd Ltd.

Conditions
All good things come at a price, so here’s something to take note: The ride will be $5 flat rate regardless of destination only if the following conditions are met.

You will be required to book the ride at least 30 minutes in advance or pre-booked the night before 10pm. Commuters will also have to walk a distance (300 meters or lesser) to pre-designated waiting area that include bus stops, taxi stands and other landmarks. And of course, you’ll have to share your ride with others.

Limitations
Pick-up and drop-offs are currently limited to a zone that covers the North, Central and South. And it means areas from Ang Mo Kio to Kallang, Orchard, Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar and Marina South at the other end.

SWAT will operate in the morning peak hours of between 7am to 10am on weekdays only. Travelling time is also promised to be no more than 10 minutes longer compared to a regular taxi ride. Office people working at CBD areas, now you have no more reasons to be late!

They’ve done their research
The creators of this app has surely done their share of research – they have analyzed “millions of commuters’ data” to identify repeated group travel patterns before generating the “most efficient route” for all passengers.

Their technology also allows the app to add new passengers without affecting the estimated time of arrival for existing onboard passengers. Well, this is bound to give Uber and Grab a run for their money.

Their service
13-seater Toyota Hiace High Roof vans are used for their service. SWAT had already begun operations on 29 August 2016 with 7 drivers, and currently has 15 drivers. The number is also expected to increase to 35 by early next year, and app users have already grown to more than 1,000 in nearly 3 weeks. Another feature of SWAT that distinguishes them from their competitors would be drivers not being able to reject or cancel your ride.

Yay or Nay
Although it all sounds perfect, a transport expert has raised the concern that regulatory questions are bound to come up in the long run if they gain much popularity.

Just think about Airbnb in Singapore. While some commuters felt optimistic about the innovative business, others felt that they “might as well take the train if they needed to walk a distance to the waiting point and share ride with strangers” since you’ll never know if the delay would really be 10 minutes. Well, this is quite true and waiting is not really our culture’s forte. Let’s just try not to complain every time a new business presents itself.

But at least you are guaranteed a seat.

SWAT is available on iOS only for now.

Featured Image: swatmobile.io

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com