All taxi operators cut taxi rental rebates for June

All taxi operators have followed ComfortDelGro's lead in reducing rental rebates, although rental rates vary widely across companies.

The taxi giant, with 59% of the 18,000 cabs here announced last week that it would charge its cabbies 50% of the usual rental from 2 June 2020.

That, it said, translates to $58.60 for a three-year old Toyota Prius. ComfortDelGro had waived rental completely for the last two months. Trans-Cab, the second largest player with 14% of the market, is charging close to $40 for a similar cab - up from $21.40 last month.

SMRT, the third largest player with 13.7% of the market, has the highest rental of around $69 for a similar taxi. Like ComfortDelGro, it had waived rental for the last two months.

Premier, with an 8.5% market share, is charging $21.40 - unchanged from previous month. The company said it is able to offer such a low rate because it had "helped drivers to save" instead of granting them a complete rental waiver last month. Prime, the smallest player with a 3.7% slice of the pie, is charging $38.80 for the next two weeks, up from $20 last month.

The company said it is fixing the price for two weeks instead of one month because it expects conditions to be fluid, and having a shorter commitment period allows it to be more responsive should market conditions change. The remaining cabs, comprising 1% of the market, are either owner-operated or with drivers who are on a salary scheme.