Price Surge is Allegedly Back in Private-Hire Cars As People Started to Go Back to the Office

Ever since the easing of restrictions for workplaces where more people are allowed to return to the office, private-hire cars and taxis are noticing an increase in ridership and fares.

A reporter went ahead to do an analysis of fares for Grab, Gojek, and ComfortDelgro and noticed a marked increase.

But you’ll probably be surprised at which company has the most price surge.

Hint: It’s not ComfortDelgro.

Price Surge is Allegedly Back in Private-Hire Cars As People Started to Go Back to the Office

If you have to travel out to work during the Circuit Breaker period, you’ll quickly come to realize that fares are lower than the pre-Covid-19 period, mostly because fares are determined by supply and demand.

More cars on the road, way lesser demand because everyone works from home.

Now that more people are returning to the office, we’re seeing a move back towards the pre-Covid-19 period.

According to zaobao.sg, here are the fares during the peak period over the past week:

The fares are from Grab, Gojek and ComfortDelbro (both fixed and normal rates).

Surprisingly (or not really, since whether a surge happens or not depends on the supply as well), Gojek’s fares have a surge every single day while ComfortDelgro has the least amount of surge in fares.

However, on days where all three services have a lack of cars in the area, ComfortDelgro’s the most expensive when it comes to getting a ride. Something you might want to keep in mind if you have to take a Private-Hire / taxi regardless of the price surge.

ComfortDelgro also seems to have lower than usual fares on a few days, so if you want to save a few dollars, it might be worth it to compare fares before booking a ride.

If you’re someone who’s too lazy to switch apps every time you want to get a ride, you might want to consider installing this app which lets you compare and choose the cheapest ride all with one click.

As High As 60% Surge

On Tuesday (6 Oct), the general fare for a trip from Boon Lay MRT to Dhoby Ghaut is $15 but Gojek’s surge pricing of $25.60 puts it at 60% higher than the usual rate.

It was also observed that just like before, a price surge will happen when it rains, just like it did on 8 Oct 2020 at 8pm.

Grab’s fares surged to $31, while Gojek’s increased to $27.40. Even ComfortDelgro couldn’t resist and rose the highest at $39.70.

You got to remember, the general fare is $15.

That’s a more than 2x surge for some Grab and ComfortDelgro.

An Increase In Demand

Gojek Singapore GM Lien Zhonglun says they’ve observed an increase in demand for their cars.

This includes passengers travelling to and from the Central Business District (CBD), as well as in neighbourhood areas.

A spokesperson for Grab says there’s been an increase in calls, especially during the weekends.

A full-time Gojek driver also said that his passenger capacity has recovered to 60% of his pre-Covid-19 capacity.

Other than CBD and the coastal area, he also noted that there are more passengers go to and leaving from industrial estates.

Also An Increase In Prices

Turns out, it’s not just surge pricing; there’s also been an increase in the general fare.

A Grab driver told the Chinese newspaper that an increase in prices isn’t just seen on trips to the city.

He related how he was given a job to fetch a passenger from Yishun to the city in the morning for $19.

He didn’t pick the job up. Subsequently, for his next job, he has to pick up a passenger in Yishun and drive him to another part of Yishun, yet the fare was $16.

Another individual interviewed, a facilities manager who had to travel around Singapore for work, observed an increase in prices, even during the 3 to 4pm period in the afternoon, on Gojek.

After downloading the ComfortDelgro app, he realizes that fares on ComfotDelgro are cheaper in comparison.

Moral of the story?

Compare prices if you’re interested in saving a few dollars, because like what the table above has shown, the rides might start and end the same but not all fares are created equal.

And sometimes, it’s not “just a few cents or one or two dollars extra”. It could be a lot more.