Full ride-hailing licences being evaluated for Trans-Cab, Geolah beyond 2025: LTA

[SINGAPORE] With just under two months left on their one-year provisional permits to offer ride-hailing services, Trans-Cab and Geolah’s eligibility for full ride-hailing licences is being evaluated, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said.

The two companies were given one-year provisional licences to offer the services from Jan 1.

If the two newcomers receive the full licence, they will join five existing ride-hailing platforms – Grab, Ryde, Tada, Gojek and CDG Zig.

Trans-Cab on July 14 rolled out its SmileRide app to its 2,200 taxi drivers and 300 private-hire car drivers. Passengers get a S$2 discount on the first ride booked on the app, and there is no surge pricing when demand increases.

Jasmine Tan, general manager of Trans-Cab, said the company has been told by LTA that its eligibility for a full ride-hailing operator licence is being reviewed.

Development of the app, which is available in both Apple and Android versions, began in September 2024. Tan told The Straits Times that the company took additional time to ensure that the platform was stable and met operational requirements before rolling it out.

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Since mid-October, Trans-Cab has progressively integrated the SmileRide app into the mobile display terminals in its taxis. This enables the drivers to view and accept bookings made through the app via the display in their taxis, instead of using the mobile phone app.

The roll-out is due to be completed on Nov 8.

Once the taxi terminals are updated, Trans-Cab will step up its efforts to promote the app to passengers, as well as work with its drivers to increase adoption.

ComfortDelGro, which operates the CDG Zig ride-hailing platform, also incorporates app bookings into its taxi display terminals.

Geolah, whose app offers limousine bookings and parcel deliveries, did not respond to ST’s request for comment. The app provides rides using four- and six-seaters, with options for rides that include child seats for children up to 1.35m tall, as well as pets. Lifestyle website TimeOut reported that a ride-hailing service was added to the Geolah app in February.

Trans-Cab’s ride-hailing platform offers taxi rides with fixed and metered fare options, as well as private-hire car rides with four- and six-seater options.

In mid-October, ST tried to book rides on the SmileRide app. Initially, the iPhone version was unable to locate destinations using postal codes. This was resolved a few days later, after feedback was given to Trans-Cab.

On Oct 27, ST attempted to book a ride through the app seven times between 6pm and 6.40pm, but none of them was successful. The trip requested was from the ST newsroom in Toa Payoh to Margaret Drive, near Queenstown, a 9km journey. Without the S$2 discount, the fixed fare for a four-seater car was comparable to that of the other platforms.

For each attempt, the app displayed the message: “Sorry! No drivers are available”.

At 9.30am on Oct 28, the app found a driver almost immediately. However, the driver did not show up at the pickup point, even though the app indicated that the taxi had arrived. After failing to reach the driver via the in-app messaging feature, the booking was cancelled by ST because of the no-show. There was no cancellation charge.

In response, Tan from Trans-Cab said the company is aware that ride availability is limited during certain periods. She expects more drivers to use the platform when the app is integrated with the display terminals in its entire taxi fleet.

Steven Chua, 58, who drives a Trans-Cab taxi, said he uses Grab and Tada’s platforms as well as Trans-Cab’s SmileRide. He said that while some taxi drivers like to cherry-pick the highest fare across the apps, he tends to take whichever job comes first.

Chua said he keeps more than one app active to have a backup. On Trans-Cab’s approach of not using surge pricing, which means lower earnings for drivers, he expressed a willingness to accept its jobs. He explained that when fares are rising during periods of high demand, passengers are less likely to cancel such bookings in favour of alternatives on competing apps.

Over the past two weeks, Chua has completed around five trips from Trans-Cab’s SmileRide app, noting that there are more bookings coming through than before. He said passengers are mostly curious about the new platform for booking rides, and eager to make use of the discount for first-time users.

Before Trans-Cab and Geolah, Ryde was the last ride-hailing operator to receive a one-year provisional operator’s licence. It received a full licence in 2021. THE STRAITS TIMES