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New Ride-Hailing Firm in S’pore Provides Fixed Monthly Pay + CPF & Annual Leave

2018-08-21 , 3:29 pm

Last Updated on 2018-08-26 , 4:22 pm

Earlier this year when Uber suddenly shut down, I bet you’d have heard this somewhere in your neighbourhood coffeeshop:

“Eh, Bro, Uber leaving liao leh! Now left Grab. We start a hail-riding firm lah, confirm huat one.”

“Steady. You develop the app I do the marketing. Let’s do it!”

Maybe these band of brothers eventually didn’t do it because they’re no-action-all-talk, but several companies did. In fact, many companies did.

Ryde, Jungoo, Kardi, Filo and Tada all entered the market, and one has already left. Earlier this month, Jungoo left and allied with Kardi.

In fact, you can even get a “customized Uber clone” powered by Jungoo to get started faster.

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But let’s face it: if you take private hire often, chances are, you often use these two apps: Grab and ComfortDelgro (which surprisingly is pretty good). The rest…well, let’s just say that Singapore is just too small a market.

But that didn’t deter another player: Urge.

Urge, Not Uber

At first glance, you might take a second look as it’s spelled almost like Uber. But read it aloud and it’s a whole new story altogether.

Other ride-hailing firms, in order to take on Grab, has their own unique selling points: most have lower commissions for drivers, with Tada even having no commission at all.

Here are the download numbers of the apps based on Google Play Store:

Ryde: 100,000+ Downloads (Rating: 2.7 Stars)
(Do note, however, that the Ryde app has been in the market since 2015, providing carpooling services as well)

Jungoo: 1,000,000+ Downloads (Rating: 4.2 Stars)
(This is the international version)

Filo: 1,000+ Downloads (Rating: 3.2 Stars)

Kardi: 5,000+ Downloads (Ratings: 2.6 Stars)

Tada: 5,000+ Downloads (Ratings: 3.1 Stars)

And of course, here’s the giant’s numbers:

Grab: 50,000,000 Downloads (Rating: 4.4 Stars)
(This is the international version)

Given the number, you can bet that it’s not exactly a walk in the park in this industry.

However, Urge is moving in a unique position. One that’s so unique, it might just work.

Drivers Can be Salaried Employees instead of Self-Employed

Urge still allow freelancers (i.e. the usual private-hire drivers) to use its platform, but it also has full-time salaried employees as its drivers.

According to reports (not verified, though), the basic salary is $2,700 and it includes even benefits (actually it’s entitlements, but anyways) such as annual leave.

In Urge’s Facebook Post last month, they offered up to $3,680 a month, with CPF, vehicle and annual leave + medical leave.

The company claims to have 20 full-timers now and 50 – 80 freelancers (normal private hire drivers?), and hope to have 2,000 drivers in the next three months.

Another of their unique system is their stand on dynamic pricing: unlike other players, they would not employ dynamic pricing, but they’ll have peak-hour sub-charges, kind of like taxis.

It just has a soft launch and aim to have a full launch in a month.

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So, Got Money to Take on Grab?

Let’s face it: the only reason why people are rooting for GO-Jek is that they’ve got the financial muscle to go head-on with Grab. So, does Urge has a war chest to take on Grab?

Unfortunately, this isn’t disclosed as the firm does not comment on its funding, though they had keen investors from countries like China and Malaysia.

Urge Just Like Grab

Urge isn’t just going to be in the private-hire industry: they’re also looking at food delivery, logistics and courier services.

For full-time riders, pay is at $1.9K a month ($2.1K after probation) for a 6-day workweek with petrol and meal allowance.

Sounds familiar? That’s because other ride-hailing apps are doing that, too.

Grab is also becoming a superapp, providing food delivery (i.e. GrabFood) and many other services, while Ryde is moving into courier services.

Driving for a Fixed Pay isn’t New

Lest you’re not aware, being a salaried taxi driver isn’t new.

Last year, HDT became the first taxi operator to offer a basic salary of $1,600 with the usual entitlements like CPF and annual leave. With OT, it can go up to $2,800. In addition, they would also enjoy bonus should the drivers hit their revenue target.

But of course, Urge would be the first private-hire firm to do that.

So, would Urge shake the market like how Grab and Uber shook the taxi industry?

Let’s wait and watch. After all, we all benefit from competition.

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