Amid high COE premiums, the programme Talking Point finds out how viable car-sharing is as a transport option and what the user experience is like.
SINGAPORE: As with most car-sharing users, she began trying out this transport option because “cars are so expensive in Singapore”.
In fact, user penetration in Singapore, at around 7 per cent, is one of the world’s highest at a national level, according to transport analyst Prateek Bansal from Future Cities Lab Global. This comes amid skyrocketing Certificate of Entitlement premiums. While a dusty dashboard may be expected, or even food stains, his car smelled of cigarette smoke on one occasion, which made him “nauseous”.Food left behind can attract cockroaches. Car-sharing company GetGo said it depends on customers to look after the vehicles.
Planning where to pick up and drop off the car is another hassle. Among the providers, BlueSG has different pick-up and drop-off points across Singapore. GetGo, Shariot and Tribecar utilise a Point A-to-A system. The petrol is fully paid for by the company either via a fuel card in the car or via reimbursement with a valid receipt. GetGo also rewards users with promo codes — the amounts vary depending on how full the tank is — while Tribecar users are given their last hour of use for free.
One BlueSG user, Malcolm Chen, 35, had to pay S$11,250 following an accident in 2021 — his car had crashed into the rear of a vehicle at a traffic light junction. In response to queries about transparency in car-sharing charges, BlueSG told Talking Point: “We’re always willing to explain our charges and explain what repairs are done. Our claims team handling the accident repairs do explain them to the affected members.”
The third-party excess, quoted in an email to her seen by Talking Point, was between S$5,000 and S$8,000, pending confirmation by the car-sharing provider’s insurer.“It was a very tiring process, and we also sought legal help free legal clinics just to understand what we can do in such situations,” said Jane, who is in her 30s and has five years of driving experience.
To help users, GetGo provides the option of buying a Collision Damage Waiver at a cost of 5 per cent of the total booking charge. This reduces the excess by 50 per cent. He told Talking Point the accident was caused by a GetGo user who had no driving licence but had booked a car with a parent’s licence.
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