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Ride-hailing newcomers launch, to contrasting starts

SINGAPORE — The two new entrants to the private-hire car industry here have got off to contrasting starts: Homegrown firm Ryde said on Wednesday (May 2) its fixed-fare private-hire car service, RydeX, was used for over 2,000 trips on the first day of its launch. Some 5,000 drivers have also been approved by the firm to offer the service.

SINGAPORE — The two new entrants to the private-hire car industry here have got off to contrasting starts: Homegrown firm Ryde said on Wednesday (May 2) its fixed-fare private-hire car service, RydeX, was used for over 2,000 trips on the first day of its launch. Some 5,000 drivers have also been approved by the firm to offer the service.

Meanwhile, India's Jugnoo has enrolled 100 drivers — out of a target of 2,000 which it hopes to achieve by the end of the month — since it made its services available here two days ago. It declined to reveal the number of trips completed via its app.

Ryde's chief executive Terence Zou called RydeX's debut promising and said he was "confident" of securing 10 per cent of the private-hire car market by early next year.

Despite its lower enrolment numbers, Jugnoo's public relations executive Manpreet Kaur said the firm was "optimistic" about the Singapore market.

"This move is Jugnoo's first expansion outside of India. We are optimistic that we will figure out alternative ways to compete in other parts of the world, which could potentially include markets outside of South-east Asia, in the future," Ms Kaur told TODAY.

But it remains to be seen if either of them will prove to be formidable competitors to ride-hailing giant Grab, said transport experts, who noted many drivers are adopting a wait-and-see attitude towards the new platforms.

Both platforms are "hungry to get a piece of the pie", but their novel pricing approaches may not be the most user-friendly, said transport consultant Tham Chen Munn.

"Having to 'bid' for rides may require too much effort on the part of the drivers and commuters," he said, referring to Jugnoo's "reverse-bidding" pricing system that sees drivers placing bids for rides, and riders selecting a bid based on a driver's rating, bid price and waiting time.

Mr Tham added: "RydeX seems to be off to a good start; I am more worried about Jugnoo."

RydeX has vowed to take a smaller cut of 10 per cent from drivers, instead of the 20 to 30 per cent charged by other players. From now until Friday (May 4), it is also offering 20 per cent cashback for commuters.

Transport specialist Terence Fan of the Singapore Management University said RydeX's performance "sounds impressive for a first day of operations", but stressed that the challenge is in "maintaining the momentum".

"Grab is still a very strong competitor (to the new players)… It is too early to tell whether RydeX's performance can be sustained. We have to review it in about three to six months," said Dr Fan.

Mr Chris Koh, who has been driving with Grab and Uber for more than three years, said he is "definitely keen" to give the new platforms a shot because they give drivers "more flexibility" in determining the prices and rides they want to take on.

However, the 52-year-old, who has signed up for RydeX, has not managed to secure any rides over the last two days. "I think there are still not many riders on the app. I see only about seven to eight riders, and most are too far from me," he said.

"I think they will need more publicity. When Grab and Uber first set up here, they had recruitment centres and quick courses to familiarise drivers with their platforms. RydeX does not have this kind of set-up," he said.

Grab driver Ken Li said he will monitor how the new services take off in the next few months before deciding whether to get on board. "New platforms often provide good incentives in the initial period, because they need to pool drivers and commuters, but after a while, everything goes back to normal," said the 50-year-old.

Mr Li said he would also watch out for the platforms' financial backing. Jugnoo is backed by Indian capital firms Paytm and Snow Leopard Tech Ventures, and has raised about US$16 million (S$21.3 million). Ryde, which started out as a carpooling service in 2014, has reportedly raised US$1.5 million from "strategic and angel investors".

Private-hire driver Adrian Goh felt RydeX's platform to be "rather user-unfriendly" as commuters have to book their rides about 20 minutes in advance. "As a driver who's driving around, you wouldn't know where your next destination will be. You would be very lucky if you have a trip that ends up near to your next job," he said.

Still, the 38-year-old hopes that competition could help to even out the playing field in the industry. "It's good to have competition rather than to have only one platform (Grab) controlling the whole market," he said.

Commuters interviewed by TODAY said they would be keen to try the new platforms if prices were lower.

Said insurance agent Mervyn Tan: "Cheapest and fastest to my door wins. I have zero brand loyalty." The 53-year-old said he has tried out RydeX and found it "too expensive" even with launch promotions.

Agreeing, commuter Gabriel Lionel Morais, 46, said Singaporean commuters tend to subscribe to the most affordable service. "Singaporeans are a unique breed with little brand loyalty. The cheapest wins."

When TODAY tried the new services on Wednesday, prices quoted by RydeX typically cost about S$2 to S$3 more than those offered by Grab.

Attempts from various locations to book a ride on Jugnoo's app were unsuccessful as there were "no drivers nearby".

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