Shared taxi rides from 16th May as Grab extends GrabShare to cabs

From next week (16^th May), commuters will have the option of sharing their taxi rides with a stranger. Grab announced on its website on Tuesday (9^th May) that from 16^th May the GrabShare option - which allows commuters to share a private-hire car to reduce the cost of their trip - will also include taxis.

GrabTaxi Singapore Head Melvin Vu said that Grab is 'excited to bring taxi-sharing back to Singapore', adding that the firm has been studying trip data and refining its algorithm to better match passengers since GrabShare's launch in December last year. "We are confident that the combined strengths of taxis and cars will result in greater transport efficiency while creating more income opportunities for driver-partners," said Mr. Vu.

In March the ride-hailing firm introduced JustGrab, which offers upfront fares and dynamic pricing for taxi services here to commuters. Grab is tying up with five taxi companies for the service. This is yet another attempt at getting commuters here to share a taxi. In 1997, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) launched a Share-a-Cab initiative, which was later discontinued because of the low take-up rate. More recently, the Pair Taxi app was launched here in 2015. However, the service ceased operation just a month after it was introduced as the LTA deemed its fare model 'did not meet the fare-charging conditions stipulated in the regulatory framework'.