ComfortDelGro to waive taxi rental by another month in light of Covid-19 circuit breaker extension

SINGAPORE — Cabbies with ComfortDelGro will get another month of full taxi rental waivers, in line with the Government's extension of the Covid-19 circuit breaker period.

The rental waiver will be extended to June 1, said the company in a media release on Wednesday (April 22).

ComfortDelGro had previously announced a one month rental waiver for drivers, after the Government said on April 3 that it would implement measures such as closing schools and most workplaces.

In a televised address on Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the circuit breaker period, which was supposed to end on May 4, will now be extended by four weeks until June 1.

“With the circuit breaker period being extended by another month and further tightening of the existing circuit breaker measures, our cabbies will continue to be hard-hit and find it difficult to make ends meet," said ComfortDelGro Taxi chief executive officer Ang Wei Neng.

"Times like these, we have to band together and face the challenges together.”

The further rental waiver is expected to cost the company an additional S$17 million, said ComfortDelGro, bringing the total relief package given to its cabbies to S$116 million.

The taxi operator added that more than 680 cabbies have been deployed to take on other jobs, with nearly 110 of them providing delivery services for food outlets such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Cedele, as well as delivery platform foodpanda.

ComfortDelGro taxi drivers are also being trained to take on grocery delivery jobs with RedMart, under a partnership that was announced earlier this month.

This comes amid a spike in demand for delivery services, as people have been urged to stay home as much as possible to help stem the spread of Covid-19. CNA

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