ComfortDelGro    Last:1.29   -

COMFORT DELGRO - REBORN - 2020

I think CDG does recognize the benefit of ride hail and importantly, that consumers like to ride hail on app. Hence they have launched their own ride hail app and integrate it with some banks. Some brothers shared that their ride hail fixed trip prices are competitive with Grab / Gojek.

Now what if CDG extends their ride hail app to freelance non-taxi drivers? They already have the license anyway. That would be new revenue streams for them. They can also tie up these freelance non-taxi drivers with their service workshops and Vicom.

Conman      ( Date: 05-Oct-2020 08:32) Posted: The whole world has changed. The earlier CDG admit that its business model (of renting out taxis) is in the process of being nullified by private taxis' (allowing their drivers to use their own cars for the same jobs), and that it is not at all a Covid Pandemic problem, the better it will be for its survival. Entropy72      ( Date: 04-Oct-2020 20:08) Posted: If CDG gives up its street hail license today, and focuses only on ride hail operations (like Grab) plus rental of its taxi fleet, what will the public consumers miss? If nothing, then it is true that its taxi model is unsustainable and it should progressively wind down and transit to ride hail. If public / tourists still wants street hail instead of ride hail, then there is still value to having taxis. I don't have answers yet, so hope to learn and understand from forum brothers here.

 

The whole world has changed. The earlier CDG admit that its business model (of renting out taxis) is in the process of being nullified by private taxis' (allowing their drivers to use their own cars for the same jobs), and that it is not at all a Covid Pandemic problem, the better it will be for its survival.

Entropy72      ( Date: 04-Oct-2020 20:08) Posted: If CDG gives up its street hail license today, and focuses only on ride hail operations (like Grab) plus rental of its taxi fleet, what will the public consumers miss? If nothing, then it is true that its taxi model is unsustainable and it should progressively wind down and transit to ride hail. If public / tourists still wants street hail instead of ride hail, then there is still value to having taxis. I don't have answers yet, so hope to learn and understand from forum brothers here.

 

If CDG gives up its street hail license today, and focuses only on ride hail operations (like Grab) plus rental of its taxi fleet, what will the public consumers miss? If nothing, then it is true that its taxi model is unsustainable and it should progressively wind down and transit to ride hail. If public / tourists still wants street hail instead of ride hail, then there is still value to having taxis.

I don't have answers yet, so hope to learn and understand from forum brothers here.

 

The chrapest way to drive Grab is to buy a cheap used car. But even if the drivers were to rent, the rental are very low compared to taxis. Some canbe as low as $28 a day during promotion time. And if you compare the same model like Toyota Pirus, before the Pamdemic, it was $70 vs $125. So the killing part is rental. Because taxi companies earn from high rental, high rentals in turn kill them. About diesel taxis, they are waiting to be scrapped. All taxis will be petrol driven soon, in line with the green environment policies of the gov.

Whatever, the numbers show -- Private taxis have grown to 70,000. Taxis down from 28,000 to the present 16,000 (CDG 8,000).

zqy1985      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 12:22) Posted: My question is though... Don' t Grab/Gojek drivers have to pay rental as well? Some they do take up rental cars to drive and my understanding is that rental is not cheaper than Comfort? Of cos some may be using their own cars, which means they need to pay for the car loan as well.  The thing about Taxi is usually they go in shifts so the car is fully utilized and rental is shared among the two - this is something probably less useful these days since night shift likely no customers. They used to run on Diesel, now i not sure if they still do but diesel is cheaper than usual petrol. Running costs is actually lower than private cars if you ask me.  What the private car drivers have for advantage is of cos something else - the " prestige" and convenience of driving a nice private car so you are not seen as a " cabbie" . The likes of Grab/Gojek usually have promotions/tiers that allow them to earn potentially more than taxis if they work hard.  Taxi drivers on the other hand, typically also use Grab and Gojek (if they are savvy enough) so on top of the comfort app they have additional revenue. They can do pick up on the streets as well, though that is probably underutilized at the moment. Kids-friendly so parents (like my sister) will have to choose taxi option even while using Grab.  So is taxis going to die off? Unlikely. I don' t think anywhere in the world you see taxis completely replaced by the likes of Uber and Grab so i don' t see that happening in Singapore. What is likely to happen though is Comfort will increasingly operate like a Grab (which interests me that they are changing their fixed fare model to be competitive). Is that good for them? Not sure but it' s a necessary change.  Anyway Grab' s ultimate aim as a business is not transport, the real draw for the business is data analytics and mobile payments, depending on transport they are just burning money. Won' t be surprised if eventually this difference in earnings get normalized between the likes of Comfort and Grab. Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 11:00) Posted: Further to the subject of taxi drivers' earnings, one simple way is a to discount 50% from the fares you pay. For example, if you take a taxi trip and the fare is $6, the driver net $3 after deducting his costs. Any off-day he takes, he has no income for that day and yet has to pay rental for it.

 

Most taxis have no relief drivers nowadays because of the loss of market shares, many want to drive long hours alone. Also, not many want to be night drivers because after 10pm, there arent enough passengers to feed the same number of taxi drivers as in day time.

John2020      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 12:49) Posted: Talked with quite a few taxi drivers, the situation u mentioned is very very rare. Most taxi drivers share with 2-3 ppl to fully utilize the cars and share cost. Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 11:00) Posted: Further to the subject of taxi drivers' earnings, one simple way is a to discount 50% from the fares you pay. For example, if you take a taxi trip and the fare is $6, the driver net $3 after deducting his costs. Any off-day he takes, he has no income for that day and yet has to pay rental for it.

 

I thought Green Trap was talking about Grab not allowing riders to sit next to the driver. Yes it is child seat rule. But how many people go out with kids? The number is very negligible.

zqy1985      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 12:06) Posted: Why would Gojek and Ryde have such restrictions though? I thought the restrictions is due to child seat? of cos parents can always take the risk if they want to, but so far my understanding is anything happens insurance does not cover while taxis has that protection Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 10:27) Posted: I believe this is Grab's strategy to bring business to its 5 seaters or even larger cars. Riders also have the options to book GoJek or Tada or Ryde which dont impose such restrictions.

 

Yes, from what I know is due to restrictions. Most probably Gojek or other platform drivers wouldn' t risk the fine as well.

zqy1985      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 12:06) Posted: Why would Gojek and Ryde have such restrictions though? I thought the restrictions is due to child seat? of cos parents can always take the risk if they want to, but so far my understanding is anything happens insurance does not cover while taxis has that protection Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 10:27) Posted: I believe this is Grab's strategy to bring business to its 5 seaters or even larger cars. Riders also have the options to book GoJek or Tada or Ryde which dont impose such restrictions.

 

Talked with quite a few taxi drivers, the situation u mentioned is very very rare. Most taxi drivers share with 2-3 ppl to fully utilize the cars and share cost.

Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 11:00) Posted: Further to the subject of taxi drivers' earnings, one simple way is a to discount 50% from the fares you pay. For example, if you take a taxi trip and the fare is $6, the driver net $3 after deducting his costs. Any off-day he takes, he has no income for that day and yet has to pay rental for it. Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 10:04) Posted: Lowering of fares to compensate for the loss of clientele can back-fire at CDG because it further cuts back drivers' earning. Now that taxi drivers have the option to drive Grab anytime as they wish, this may not be a good move. According the news report last weekend, one Ryde driver earns close to $10k a month and yet he was not rhe highest earner. How much taxi drivers earn? Tou can find out by asking the drivers yourself when you take taxis. My estimate is $5 to $8 an hour for an omo driver

 

My question is though... Don' t Grab/Gojek drivers have to pay rental as well? Some they do take up rental cars to drive and my understanding is that rental is not cheaper than Comfort? Of cos some may be using their own cars, which means they need to pay for the car loan as well. 
The thing about Taxi is usually they go in shifts so the car is fully utilized and rental is shared among the two - this is something probably less useful these days since night shift likely no customers. They used to run on Diesel, now i not sure if they still do but diesel is cheaper than usual petrol. Running costs is actually lower than private cars if you ask me. 
What the private car drivers have for advantage is of cos something else - the " prestige" and convenience of driving a nice private car so you are not seen as a " cabbie" . The likes of Grab/Gojek usually have promotions/tiers that allow them to earn potentially more than taxis if they work hard. 
Taxi drivers on the other hand, typically also use Grab and Gojek (if they are savvy enough) so on top of the comfort app they have additional revenue. They can do pick up on the streets as well, though that is probably underutilized at the moment. Kids-friendly so parents (like my sister) will have to choose taxi option even while using Grab. 
So is taxis going to die off? Unlikely. I don' t think anywhere in the world you see taxis completely replaced by the likes of Uber and Grab so i don' t see that happening in Singapore. What is likely to happen though is Comfort will increasingly operate like a Grab (which interests me that they are changing their fixed fare model to be competitive). Is that good for them? Not sure but it' s a necessary change. 
Anyway Grab' s ultimate aim as a business is not transport, the real draw for the business is data analytics and mobile payments, depending on transport they are just burning money. Won' t be surprised if eventually this difference in earnings get normalized between the likes of Comfort and Grab.

Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 11:00) Posted: Further to the subject of taxi drivers' earnings, one simple way is a to discount 50% from the fares you pay. For example, if you take a taxi trip and the fare is $6, the driver net $3 after deducting his costs. Any off-day he takes, he has no income for that day and yet has to pay rental for it. Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 10:04) Posted: Lowering of fares to compensate for the loss of clientele can back-fire at CDG because it further cuts back drivers' earning. Now that taxi drivers have the option to drive Grab anytime as they wish, this may not be a good move. According the news report last weekend, one Ryde driver earns close to $10k a month and yet he was not rhe highest earner. How much taxi drivers earn? Tou can find out by asking the drivers yourself when you take taxis. My estimate is $5 to $8 an hour for an omo driver

 

Why would Gojek and Ryde have such restrictions though? I thought the restrictions is due to child seat? of cos parents can always take the risk if they want to, but so far my understanding is anything happens insurance does not cover while taxis has that protection

Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 10:27) Posted: I believe this is Grab's strategy to bring business to its 5 seaters or even larger cars. Riders also have the options to book GoJek or Tada or Ryde which dont impose such restrictions. GreenTrap      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 09:39) Posted: Family of 4 with kids below certain age unable to take Grab as well, only taxi.

 

Further to the subject of taxi drivers' earnings, one simple way is a to discount 50% from the fares you pay. For example, if you take a taxi trip and the fare is $6, the driver net $3 after deducting his costs. Any off-day he takes, he has no income for that day and yet has to pay rental for it.

Conman      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 10:04) Posted: Lowering of fares to compensate for the loss of clientele can back-fire at CDG because it further cuts back drivers' earning. Now that taxi drivers have the option to drive Grab anytime as they wish, this may not be a good move. According the news report last weekend, one Ryde driver earns close to $10k a month and yet he was not rhe highest earner. How much taxi drivers earn? Tou can find out by asking the drivers yourself when you take taxis. My estimate is $5 to $8 an hour for an omo driver. zqy1985      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 09:23) Posted: on a separate, somewhat related observation... Not sure if you realized, recently Comfort Delgro app has been giving very competitive rates for their fixed-fare trips.  It used to be that the fixed fare is somewhat close to the metered fare rate, so it' s like a gamble if your final fare is cheaper or more expensive.  Recently i checked the fixed fare is way cheaper, and it came with a lot of vouchers for use though i not sure if that was because it' s tied to PayLah? (i used $4 voucher, they gave me another $5, used the $5 one they gave me another $8 one). And most importantly, that fare without voucher is already cheaper than both Grab and Gojek. And the take up rates by Taxi Drivers are also higher (last time they ignored, presumably Grab has better fares).  Not sure if this is a good move by Comfort to try and match the Grab and Gojek models of lower fixed pricing but good for consumers in general. Is this part of their transformation to combat the rise of Grab? i wonder what kind of perks do taxi drivers get for picking up these fixed fare trips though.

 

I believe this is Grab's strategy to bring business to its 5 seaters or even larger cars. Riders also have the options to book GoJek or Tada or Ryde which dont impose such restrictions.

GreenTrap      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 09:39) Posted: Family of 4 with kids below certain age unable to take Grab as well, only taxi.

 

Lowering of fares to compensate for the loss of clientele can back-fire at CDG because it further cuts back drivers' earning. Now that taxi drivers have the option to drive Grab anytime as they wish, this may not be a good move. According the news report last weekend, one Ryde driver earns close to $10k a month and yet he was not rhe highest earner. How much taxi drivers earn? Tou can find out by asking the drivers yourself when you take taxis. My estimate is $5 to $8 an hour for an omo driver.

zqy1985      ( Date: 01-Oct-2020 09:23) Posted: on a separate, somewhat related observation... Not sure if you realized, recently Comfort Delgro app has been giving very competitive rates for their fixed-fare trips.  It used to be that the fixed fare is somewhat close to the metered fare rate, so it' s like a gamble if your final fare is cheaper or more expensive.  Recently i checked the fixed fare is way cheaper, and it came with a lot of vouchers for use though i not sure if that was because it' s tied to PayLah? (i used $4 voucher, they gave me another $5, used the $5 one they gave me another $8 one). And most importantly, that fare without voucher is already cheaper than both Grab and Gojek. And the take up rates by Taxi Drivers are also higher (last time they ignored, presumably Grab has better fares).  Not sure if this is a good move by Comfort to try and match the Grab and Gojek models of lower fixed pricing but good for consumers in general. Is this part of their transformation to combat the rise of Grab? i wonder what kind of perks do taxi drivers get for picking up these fixed fare trips though.

 

Family of 4 with kids below certain age unable to take Grab as well, only taxi. 

 

on a separate, somewhat related observation...
Not sure if you realized, recently Comfort Delgro app has been giving very competitive rates for their fixed-fare trips. 
It used to be that the fixed fare is somewhat close to the metered fare rate, so it' s like a gamble if your final fare is cheaper or more expensive. 
Recently i checked the fixed fare is way cheaper, and it came with a lot of vouchers for use though i not sure if that was because it' s tied to PayLah? (i used $4 voucher, they gave me another $5, used the $5 one they gave me another $8 one). And most importantly, that fare without voucher is already cheaper than both Grab and Gojek. And the take up rates by Taxi Drivers are also higher (last time they ignored, presumably Grab has better fares). 
Not sure if this is a good move by Comfort to try and match the Grab and Gojek models of lower fixed pricing but good for consumers in general. Is this part of their transformation to combat the rise of Grab? i wonder what kind of perks do taxi drivers get for picking up these fixed fare trips though.

 

Yes pity SBS. We can see what the gov wants --- Not one, not two, but 3 most probably equal in size eventually. It means a gradual erosion of the market shares for SBS as far as bus is concern.

As for taxis, the erosion did not start from this Pandemic Year. It started from 15 years ago when the taxi trade was opened up. Now it is opened up yet again to Grab, Gojek, Tada, Rydes. In the good old days, we saw only Comfort, CityCab, and and a small Tibs. Now for every blue or yellow taxi, we see another taxi of another colour. And for every taxi, there are 5 private taxis at its left, right, front and back.

 

But good for Singapore because we got another transport operator coming in for bus competition! Pity SBS did not get contract, but they got alot already lah. Do not be greedy SBS!! Next round, your turn...   

Entropy72      ( Date: 30-Sep-2020 23:48) Posted: Tower Transit to run Sembawang and Yishun bus interchanges, taking over from SMRT https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/tower-transit-bulim-sembawang-yishun-bus-interchanges-lta-13164090 Not positive for CDG.

 

Tower Transit to run Sembawang and Yishun bus interchanges, taking over from SMRT

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/tower-transit-bulim-sembawang-yishun-bus-interchanges-lta-13164090

Not positive for CDG.

 

Do not be so negative leh... ... your talk can influence the market. Once short sellers know that you are so negative, they will hantamm the price of Comfort down to $1.00.
So, you must at least pretend to be positive (even if you are not). Then the KATEKS will think twice about shorting and then, Comfort, like a helicopter (not rocket ahh), can hover up to $2.00 next year.
 

Conman      ( Date: 30-Sep-2020 18:41) Posted: 1.43 had turned from support to resistence. I guess CDG will continue to go down from here.

 

We already see chapter 11 in many small companies running F& B outlets, tour agents, services related. Have not seen public listed come close to this - but I am worried for transportation related industries.

Hope wont happen as long as investors continue to pump in money in exchange for rights shares. Hahah

TANPK123      ( Date: 30-Sep-2020 17:11) Posted: Vaccine will never come in 2020. Once vaccine release to public. 30% of company already close down or bankruptcy. NT1825      ( Date: 29-Sep-2020 11:24) Posted: Covid vaccine may or may not get approval in Oct 2020. When a vaccine gets approved, it is anticipated the markets in Asia will gain a lot from all time low. In SG, STI component counter will go up - first to rocket up are the ones with high NAV Cheers