Grab to launch a trial of its courier service in eastern Singapore

SINGAPORE — From Tuesday (Oct 23), consumers in certain districts will be able to deliver parcels and items using GrabExpress, as the ride-hailing firm goes for a stake in the last-mile logistics segment in Singapore.

The on-demand delivery service, now in its pilot phase, will be available from 8am to 11pm daily for now, only in selected areas. These include Changi, Tampines, Paya Lebar, Bedok, Marine Parade, Geylang, Kallang, Bendemeer, Jalan Besar, Bugis and The Esplanade.

Prices start from S$6 for each delivery, with S$1 charged for every 1km. Delivery fees will not be subject to surge pricing and Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) fees.

Parcels must weigh no more than 5kg and be no bigger than 32cm by 25cm by 12cm.

Mr Melvin Vu, regional head of markets at GrabExpress, said: “We will be studying the results of this beta trial and gathering feedback from users and delivery partners before rolling it out to everyone.”

If successful, GrabExpress will go up against other on-demand courier services available on mobile applications which have been disrupting the traditional delivery market in Singapore, such as the recently launched RydeSend, Lalamove, GoGoVan and CarPal.

Mr Vu added that GrabExpress users may place up to 10 deliveries at one time, which is “especially useful” for businesses and small- and medium-sized enterprises dealing with multiple customer orders.

For now, the deliveries will mostly be done by GrabFood’s motorcycle fleet, the firm said, as private-hire car drivers and taxi drivers are yet to be allowed to do courier services without a passenger on board. This is in accordance with regulations under the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The firm declined to reveal how many riders are on board the trial, but it has submitted a proposal to the LTA to ask if private-hire car drivers and taxi drivers on its platform can take on courier services.

“The company is hoping to eventually extend this service to GrabCar and GrabTaxi drivers, and has been in constant discussions with the LTA,” it said, adding that this would allow all drivers and delivery partners on its platform to earn more income and to better use their vehicles when providing services.

Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Transport, had announced in Parliament last month that taxi operators and private-hire car firms can approach the LTA if they are interested in allowing their drivers to perform courier services on a limited trial basis.

The LTA will work with operators to assess the feasibility of a trial and put in place safeguards to ensure that vehicles have the appropriate third-party insurance coverage, he said.

Earlier, ride-hailing firm Ryde faced a roadblock while launching its courier service in August, and it was told by the authorities that it was not able to use private-hire car drivers and taxi drivers.

Since its launch in September, RydeSend has been tapping private drivers, who may be available in their spare time to deliver items for the app's users.

The homegrown ride-hailing firm has submitted a proposal to the LTA in September to be part of trials for private-hire car drivers and taxi drivers to courier small items, and discussions are ongoing.