Ryde to launch on-demand courier service on Sept 3
Local carpooling and ride-hailing company Ryde said yesterday it will launch an on-demand delivery service, and wants to tap its pool of 60,000 drivers to courier small packages and items for Ryde app users.
But the service, RydeSend, which kicks off on Sept 3, has elicited concerns from the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), which is discouraging private-hire drivers from making deliveries because it flouts the law.
More than a fifth, or about 12,000, of Ryde's drivers are private-hire chauffeurs who have signed up to ferry passengers under its RydeX service.
The remaining are private drivers who carpool with other users on a non-commercial basis.
NPHVA's executive adviser Ang Hin Kee told The Straits Times that rules set by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) have not changed.
Under the regulations, "taxis and private-hire cars are meant to carry passengers for hire and reward, and cannot be used solely for the conveyance of goods", the LTA said in a statement last year.
Goods can be couriered if carried by a passenger. This is not the case with RydeSend, which links up users with available drivers, who will pick up the items for delivery.
Mr Ang, who is also executive adviser for the National Taxi Association, reiterated his call made last year for the LTA to review the current ruling, as there is excess capacity during off-peak hours. Allowing cabbies and private-hire drivers to make deliveries will help supplement their income, he added.
While Ryde said in a press statement yesterday that its new service will tap both private-hire and carpool drivers, its chief executive and founder Terence Zou told The Straits Times later that it will "engage with the authorities to see how private-hire drivers can be allowed to do courier jobs".
RydeSend goes up against other on-demand courier apps, including Lalamove, GoGoVan and CarPal, which have been disrupting the traditional delivery market in Singapore in recent years.
Mr Zou said charges will be based on Ryde's RydeX private-hire car fares but with an additional surcharge of $6. Like RydeX charges, RydeSend's rates will fluctuate based on demand and cost more during peak periods.
From Sept 3, Mr Zou said Ryde will sign up motorcycle riders for RydeSend, and he targets to have 20,000 of them by the fourth quarter of this year. - THE STRAITS TIMES
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
