Ryde: Private-hire Car Booking App to Start Operations on May 2

Commuters will have another option for their ride-booking needs starting May 2 a week prior ride-booking company Uber officially exits the ride-hailing scene.

In its official statement last April 26, local company, Ryde, announced its official launch date set on the 2nd of May, a little over two weeks after Ryde representatives expressed intention of branching out into the private-hire car service space in line with its business expansion plan. Ryde began its carpooling services back in 2015.

Image Credit: RydeX

Private- hire Car Service Ryde Will be Available Starting May 2

According to Ryde Technologies CEO, Mr. Terence Zou, the company has already acquired the services of about 5,000 licensed private-hire car operators for the launch of RydeX. They are also looking to increase this number up to 15,000 within the next three months after its launch.

To set its services apart from Grab, which has recently bought Uber’s operations in Southeast Asia in a merger last month, RydeX offers scheduled ride booking services, which enables users to schedule their ride bookings from a couple of minutes, to a few hours and even up to a week in advance. Moreover, the new app is looking to take in middle- to long-distance booking trips. RydeX’s base fares will set off at $8.00  and will subsequently increase by $0.60 for every kilometre travelled. Surge pricing will be stopped at $100 for all scheduled rides with RydeX, according to Mr. Zou.

Riders will be shown a fixed fare upfront as they book their ride. The fare covers all surcharges as well as tolls such as ERP. The fare is based on calculated historical data, and will be followed through even in  “exogenous situations” including traffic jams and mechanical breakdowns.

Interestingly, riders may request for a particular driver, especially if they have experienced excellent service with him/her. Riders can also give tips to their drivers through the app without any additional service fee for the tip, as explained during a press statement by Ryde Technologies.

Furthermore, riders may choose to book rides with luxury cars through the RydeExec service, where base fares would start at $18.00.

By targeting medium- to long-distance rides for its market strategy, drivers can expect higher fares which would mean more earnings for them, and higher commissions for the platform, shared Mr. Zou.

From the drivers’ perspective, accepting short trips is not very economical as they take the time to pick up their passenger/s and if they take short trips, the time spent would not be optimal for drivers, added Mr Zou.

Finally, Mr. Zou shared that the company is also looking to offer on-demand rides in the future, most likely after when the platform has reached a critical volume of ride bookings as this is important for the business prior any launch of additional services.