They found Urge to join ride-hailing market
20 Aug 2018|2,910 views
A new ride-hailing firm is hoping to make its mark both in Singapore and across the Causeway.
Singapore-based Urge aims to differentiate itself from the companies that have entered the market following Uber's exit by offering not only private-hire cars, but also food delivery, logistics and courier services.
While Urge, like Grab, allows freelancers to drive on its platform, it also takes in full-time drivers as salaried employees. According to documents seen by The Straits Times, these drivers are paid a basic salary of $2,700, and provided benefits such as annual leave. "We have about 20 full-timers and between 50 and 80 freelancers," said Urge Chief Operating Officer Kelvin Ho, 39.
He added that the firm hopes to have 2,000 drivers on board in the next three months, and said the firm will not employ dynamic pricing. "There's no (price) surge for high-demand times, but we will have a minimal peak-hour surcharge," he said.
The firm has its own fleet of about 100 cars, its Chief Liaison Officer Derrick Neo, 39, told The Straits Times. Urge had a soft launch of its private-hire car service over the past two days, and aims to have a full launch within a month.
The firm had also considered using motorcycles for its ride-hailing services here. However, it had to abandon the idea as the two-wheelers are not allowed to be used for point-to-point transportation services. Mr. Ho suggested motorcycles could be used for its ride-hailing services in Malaysia instead, which it aims to launch "concurrently" with its Singapore service.
Urge is part of a slew of companies that have entered Singapore's ride-hailing space since Uber's exit in May. Others include Ryde, which introduced its RydeX private-hire car service in May, as well as MVL Foundation, which launched its Tada app last month.
Earlier this month, Indian ride-hailing firm Jugnoo announced it was shutting down its Singapore service, and instead partnering local firm Kardi by providing technical expertise.
Observers, however, are sceptical about how many of these players will survive. Singapore University of Social Sciences Transport Economist Walter Theseira said the private-hire car market is already very crowded.
"Most of the entrants really have no capital or experience running operations at the scale needed to be sustainable in the market," he said. "These small entrants are unlikely to provide either a stable income for drivers or reliable service for consumers."
A new ride-hailing firm is hoping to make its mark both in Singapore and across the Causeway.
Singapore-based Urge aims to differentiate itself from the companies that have entered the market following Uber's exit by offering not only private-hire cars, but also food delivery, logistics and courier services.
While Urge, like Grab, allows freelancers to drive on its platform, it also takes in full-time drivers as salaried employees. According to documents seen by The Straits Times, these drivers are paid a basic salary of $2,700, and provided benefits such as annual leave. "We have about 20 full-timers and between 50 and 80 freelancers," said Urge Chief Operating Officer Kelvin Ho, 39.
He added that the firm hopes to have 2,000 drivers on board in the next three months, and said the firm will not employ dynamic pricing. "There's no (price) surge for high-demand times, but we will have a minimal peak-hour surcharge," he said.
The firm has its own fleet of about 100 cars, its Chief Liaison Officer Derrick Neo, 39, told The Straits Times. Urge had a soft launch of its private-hire car service over the past two days, and aims to have a full launch within a month.
The firm had also considered using motorcycles for its ride-hailing services here. However, it had to abandon the idea as the two-wheelers are not allowed to be used for point-to-point transportation services. Mr. Ho suggested motorcycles could be used for its ride-hailing services in Malaysia instead, which it aims to launch "concurrently" with its Singapore service.
Urge is part of a slew of companies that have entered Singapore's ride-hailing space since Uber's exit in May. Others include Ryde, which introduced its RydeX private-hire car service in May, as well as MVL Foundation, which launched its Tada app last month.
Earlier this month, Indian ride-hailing firm Jugnoo announced it was shutting down its Singapore service, and instead partnering local firm Kardi by providing technical expertise.
Observers, however, are sceptical about how many of these players will survive. Singapore University of Social Sciences Transport Economist Walter Theseira said the private-hire car market is already very crowded.
"Most of the entrants really have no capital or experience running operations at the scale needed to be sustainable in the market," he said. "These small entrants are unlikely to provide either a stable income for drivers or reliable service for consumers."
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