Uber drives into S’pore’s taxi-app market

SINGAPORE — Private car-sharing and taxi-booking app Uber, which was recently banned in Germany for violating transport laws, launched its UberTaxi service here yesterday, adding to an increasingly crowded market.

As commuters continue to grapple with the perennial problem of hailing a taxi during peak hours, five-year-old Uber, which operates in more than 200 cities, is joining a clutch of firms here such as GrabTaxi and Easy Taxi.

While Uber faces a €250,000 (S$409,000) fine each time it picks up a passenger in Germany and other regulators in cities around the world restrict its services on the grounds of licensing and insurance issues, unfair competition and safety risks, regional general manager Mike Brown told TODAY it gets no such resistance here.

“There are certain places in the world that are extremely resistant to technology and protecting entrenched interests,” said Mr Brown. “(But) we have an excellent relationship with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Ministry of Transport. They have been extremely supportive,” he added.

The LTA previously said it considers third-party apps as an alternative way of booking taxis and was reviewing their impact. It reiterated yesterday in response to questions from TODAY: “Third-party taxi apps provide an additional option of booking a taxi. We are reviewing the impact of third-party applications on the taxi industry and how they may benefit taxi drivers and commuters in matching demand with supply of taxi services.”

Uber first arrived in Singapore last year, providing two car-sharing services — the mid-tier UberExec in February 2013 followed by the lower-tier UberX in March this year. The two services work by connecting passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire, via an app. “Many thousands of users a week (use those services),” Uber said.

But with the UberTaxi service, the firm can expect many more users. “Singapore has one of the most active taxi ridership in the world, about one million daily ridership, compared with about 400,000 in New York,” said Mr Brown. “So, taxis are something core to Singapore, a very key element.”

The firm has begun signing up taxi drivers, but warned initial demand may outstrip supply. Easy Taxi, for example, has 6,000 drivers and 50,000 regular users in its database, while GrabTaxi sees more than 250,000 people in the region use its app at least once a month.

Like these two services, Uber is offering cash incentives to cab drivers to attract them, although Mr Brown declined to reveal details. It will also offer a 25 per cent discount on the total tab, including the booking fee, to passengers till the end of this month.