Ride-hailing service Go-Jek has taken Singapore by storm since it launched its beta app Thursday, and their pricing structure has apparently benefited one user who compared the Go-Jek app with its competitor Grab and found a vast price difference.
In a Reddit post Friday, user u/plane_snake posted a side-by-side comparison of both Grab and Go-Jek’s ride-hailing services, and found that the ride on Go-Jek was about four times cheaper than the ride on Grab despite keying in the same pick-up point and destination.
The post has gotten more than 590 “upvotes” as of press time on Reddit Singapore’s page.
Go-Jek has launched their beta app (DBS customers only for now) and the price difference is huge vs Grab! from r/singapore
Another Reddit user helpfully pointed out in the comments that the user’s price factored in a S$5 discount given by Go-Jek to offset the first two rides. After removing the discount, however, the Go-Jek fare was still about 50% cheaper than the Grab fare.
According to a Go-Jek spokesperson, the price on the Go-Jek app currently does not factor in dynamic pricing, which is when prices surge due to a rise in demand. The current pricing will stay during the first few weeks of the beta program, said the spokesperson.
Users have chimed in on the impending price war, reminiscing over the days when Grab and its competitor Uber were busy slashing prices on rides before Grab bought over Uber’s business in Southeast Asia.
However, users are also beginning to realize how they may not stand to benefit once such companies gain a strong foothold and market share, and begin to adjust prices to recoup their losses.
The Go-Jek app is only currently available in Singapore for DBS cardholders, who must key in the first six digits of their credit or debit card as part of the access code.
The app is also limited to serving parts of central, west and east Singapore, so it means users living in Choa Chu Kang will have to wait a while more before the service comes to their neighborhood.
Even as all this hullaballoo happens, one wise Redditor reminds us all that we still have a world-class public transportation system to rely on should ride-hailing services backfire on the public.
That is, until the trains break down again.
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