SMRT inks exclusive partnership with Grab

All SMRT taxi drivers will be able to use Grab for bookings.

SMRT's pool of cabbies will now be able to use Grab as the only ride-hailing app for taxi bookings. In an announcement, SMRT said it has inked an exclusive partnership deal with ride-hailing platform Grab. Both firms are also collaborating to offer customers dynamic fixed fares for their taxi trips booked via Grab.

The dynamic fixed fare scheme, via a new Grab service which will launch soon, lets customers know the fare for their intended trip before the start of the journey. Dynamic fixed fares are displayed upfront, and already accounts for travel time, distance, booking fees, and real-time demand and supply for taxis. Meanwhile metered fares continue to apply for street-hail pickups as well as phone and GrabTaxi bookings.

SMRT Taxis and Private Hire Services managing director Tony Heng said the market has evolved and matured significantly, and more customers are now open to having dynamic fixed fares for their taxi rides.

"This partnership with Grab allows us to keep the pricing for our services competitive, catering to different customer needs and preferences. In addition to our SMRT Taxi booking app and hotline, Grab’s platform will expand our taxi hirers’ access to meeting customer demands,” noted Heng.

As part of the exclusive partnership, the SMRT taxi drivers who are new to Grab will be incentivised to use Grab’s booking platform to complement their street-hail pickups. New SMRT taxi drivers will undergo training to help familiarise them with the Grab app and learn about Grab’s safety guidelines and expected code of conduct.

"Dynamic fixed fares ensure that taxis are better utilised throughout the day and passengers enjoy more affordable rides based on real-time market demands, whilst not eliminating metered fares. We look forward to working with SMRT Taxis and our partnering operators to start bringing the benefits of dynamic fixed fares to the community soon,” said GrabTaxi Singapore head Melvin Vu.

With SMRT Taxis on board, Grab further strengthens its land fleet network of over 100,000 drivers spanning across its services including GrabTaxi, GrabCar, and GrabHitch.