Regulation of Consumer-facing Charges and Terms Imposed by Major Ride Hailing Platforms
Ministry of TransportSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the regulation of ride-hailing platforms following Grab's reduction of grace periods, with Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Ms Mariam Jaafar inquiring about government supervision and competition. Minister S Iswaran responded that the government facilitates an open Point-to-Point market without limits on the number of licensed operators to encourage contestability. He clarified that while the government does not intervene in fare-setting, it mandates that all charges be transparently published and announced at least seven days before implementation. Minister S Iswaran noted that Grab’s changes were commercial decisions that complied with the requirement to provide commuters sufficient notice of adjustments. The government’s regulatory focus remains on ensuring safety and fare transparency rather than price control, allowing licensed operators to set terms based on market demand.
Transcript
31 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Transport in light of Grab's latest round of updates to its terms to reduce passengers' grace period for ride hailing (a) what is the type and extent of supervision that the Government maintains over major ride hailing platforms, and particularly over the latter's ability to unilaterally change their consumer-facing terms; (b) whether the Government regulates the number of such platforms operating in Singapore; and (c) if so, whether it is time to allow greater competition.
32 Ms Mariam Jaafar asked the Minister for Transport in light of the imposition by Grab of a waiting fee that is charged automatically to Grab commuters for making their assigned driver wait for more than three minutes (a) whether such a change in fee structure requires the approval of the Ministry; and (b) if so, whether a minimum period is required between the fee change announcement and its implementation.
Mr S Iswaran: The Government's regulatory approach is to facilitate an open, safe and contestable Point-to-Point (P2P) market in the transport sector. There is no regulatory limit on the number of ride-hailing platforms that can operate in Singapore. P2P operators with more than 800 vehicles are required to be licensed and all operators must comply with safety-related regulations. They then compete to meet different types of demand with attractive fare structures. Our regulations focus on ensuring the safety of P2P drivers and commuters, and that fares are transparent and clearly communicated to commuters.
The Government does not intervene in the setting of fares, but requires operators to state and publish all fares clearly, including any additional charges to be levied. Licensed ride-hail operators must also give commuters sufficient notice by announcing any changes in schemes and fees to the public at least seven days ahead of implementation.
Grab's move to shorten its waiting and cancellation grace periods before charging penalty fees – which was announced seven days prior to implementation, as required – is its own commercial decision and may differ from that of other P2P operators.