SINGAPORE (May 28): ComfortDelGro Taxi is set to halve taxi rental fees for the month of June as Singapore commences Phase 1 of its reopening plan.
While cabbies are set to enjoy rental waivers from $45 to $86 depending on the make, model and age of their taxis, this move is expected to push the company even further into the red for FY2020 ending December.
ComfortDelGro Taxi CEO Ang Wei Neng says that although the state will be easing the circuit breaker measures progressively, safe restriction measures will continue to see many individuals work from home, and a large number of businesses will remain closed.
“Taxi demand, while it is expected to pick up somewhat, is not expected to return to normal anytime soon,” says Ang.
The extension of full taxi rental waivers announced on Apr 22 had brought ComfortDelGro’s total relief package given to its cabbies to a total of some $116 million.
“We know that things will continue to be tough for our cabbies still but having already extended full rental waiver for the last two months, we are unable to do so for a third,” says Ang.
“We hope that the 50% rental waiver for the month of June will however help ease some of their financial load,” he adds.
In a bid to boost driver income, ComfortDelGro Taxi intends to ramp up efforts to secure more delivery jobs for its riders through both its delivery platform ComfortDelivery, as well as other similar platforms.
This is based on the assumption that delivery services will be allowed till end-September as Singapore slowly scales back the circuit breaker measures.
To-date, ComfortDelGro Taxi has been working with close to 50 F&B outlets, including McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut, to offer its cabbies delivery job options.
The company says close to 2,000 taxis have been successfully onboarded to participate in delivery services for more than 800 food partners, while another 400 cabbies have been redeployed to other jobs.
As at 12.02pm, shares in ComfortDelGro are trading three cents lower, or 2% down, at $1.50.
