Ride hailing firm Uber on Thursday announced the surge pricing for all its ComfortDelGro taxis from January 19, ChannelNewsAsia reported .
Commuters will be able to see UberFLASH trip fares before they request a ride, and fares will be lower by 5-10 percent on average compared to an uberX ride, ChannelNewsAsia reported citing an Uber press release.
Dynamic pricing, also known as surge pricing, means that fares for ComfortDelGro and CityCab taxis could be lower than the metered rates during the off-peak hours, but prices would increase during periods of high demand.
Taxi operators usually opt for dynamic pricing to encourage more drivers to offer rides when demand for taxis outstrips supply.
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The base fare starts at S$3 while distance fare per kilometre is S$0.45 and time fare per minute is at S$0.20. Other charges such as wait time fee of $0.20 per minute after three minutes and cancellation fee of S$6 after five minutes, similar to Uber's other offerings, would apply too, the report added.
According to Uber, when prices are surging, riders will see a multiplier to the standard rates on the map.
The latest announcement comes after the company announced a S$642 million tie-up with Uber to expand its mobility services and beat competition from private-hire car operators.
The Competition Commission of Singapore is reviewing the proposed collaboration between ComfortDelGro and Uber Technologies to see if the merger would result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market in Singapore.
Shares in ComfortDelGro lost one percent at S$2.01 on the Singapore Exchange. Stocks have lost 15 percent in a year.
