The hunger for an alternative to Grab (pretty much the only reliable ride-hailing app available here right now) is very real. For both consumers and private-hire vehicle drivers too — the latter of which have repeatedly expressed their displeasure with Grab’s policies for partner-drivers.
The discontent is not unfounded either, considering that the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore found Grab guilty of behavior that fails to protect the interests of riders and drivers after it became the biggest player in the ride-hailing industry here.
It should be no surprise then that thousands of drivers have already registered their interest to work for Indonesian ride-hailing platform Go-Jek, which is planning to launch in Singapore soon. The Straits Times believes that the firm has set its launch date for sometime later this month, which could very well be true — a handbook for Go-Jek’s driver-partners has appeared in the wild.
Pictures of the physical handbook appeared on the “Private Hire SG Cars/Partners – Grab, Ryde, TADA etc” Facebook group, and it’s basically a startup guide for new Go-Jek employees in the Singapore market. Aside from a how-to in using the app, the handbook also lists rules and regulations, including some interesting highlights that’ll show what to expect from using Go-Jek here. Now, we haven’t verified if the handbook is official (we’ll be contacting the company for confirmation), but we don’t see any reason why anyone would want to print out a whole guide as a joke.
Maximum of one additional stop
The feature of adding multiple destinations will be available, thank Odin. Not so fun is the fact that riders can only make a maximum of two stops in one trip. Uber (RIP), on the other hand, allowed up to three stops per ride.
Child car seats
Drivers without a car seat for children will have the right to refuse customers traveling with kids below the height of 1.35m.
Cleaning fees
Similar to Uber, the company will help to cover cleaning costs (up to $30) for drivers when customers make a proper mess during trips. Presumably, the $30 is charged to the unruly riders and passed on to drivers.
According to a Grab driver in a Reddit AMA back in June, Grab will only take disciplinary action — clean up fees have to be settled privately with the rider. A Grab spokesperson disputed this, stating that the company actually offers $75 cleaning fees, which are credited straight into their drivers’ cash wallet.
Earnings anytime
This one’s pretty interesting for drivers. Under Go-Jek, drivers can withdraw money from their earnings wallet into their bank account anytime, as long as the transaction amount is at least $50.
According to Grab’s FAQ section (referenced yesterday at least; the wording has since changed), drivers receive payment on a weekly basis. Grab clarified that they have something called Instant Cash Out, which enables GrabCar driver-partners to withdraw earnings instantly from their GrabPay Wallet directly to their bank accounts — but requests are limited to twice a day. A $50 minimum and a $5,000 maximum cash out applies.
Incentives
The page showcasing driver incentives is blurry, so we can’t make out a lot of details. What’s clear though is that there is a points system for drivers and apparently, minimum hourly earnings.
Discrimination and sexual misconduct
It’s a no-brainer that employees acting inappropriately will get fired and even reported to the police, but it’s nice to see reminders listed out in print. Even greater is the implication of support for LGBTQ people.
“Discriminating against customers or partners based on race, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age, or sexual orientation is not allowed. Doing so may result in losing access to the GOJEK platform.”
Editor’s Note: Article amended to include clarifications by Grab.
