“Driverless” taxis: Transport incumbents crippled as cabs loiter without chauffeurs

Blame it on taxi apps such as Uber.

The initial concern on the arrival of taxi apps to Singapore has been the competition between alternatives and incumbent transport firms. However, few predicted that it could give rise to another concern--driver shortage.

According to analysts from UOB Kay Hian, the intense clash between these taxi apps and transport companies remains on the table, but it has been compounded by the number of idle taxis in yards.

“The medium-term concern, in our view, could be a potential shortage of drivers for the incumbents, such as Trans-Cab, SMRT and even CD,” UOB Kay Hian said.

UOB Kay Hian says ComfortDelGro has shared that alternative taxi apps have reduced the waiting time for new taxi drivers from 3-4 weeks to less than one week.

However, UOB Kay Hian stresses that in Trans-Cab’s case, the low taxi utilisation is a company-specific issue, and is due to its acquisition of Smart Taxis. Trans-Cab is also struggling with its ageing taxi fleet.

“Also, we believe taxi operators could also consider reviewing its incentive programme for drivers,” UOB Kay Hian added.