SINGAPORE - Ride-hailing firm Ryde will stop charging private-hire and taxi drivers commission fees to use its platform from Jan 2, 2024, a move that drivers say seems to be geared towards lowering Ryde’s fares to make it more competitive.

Ryde, which announced the move on its website on Dec 22, said this would increase take-home pay for its drivers and is in line with its goals to build a “fair platform for both drivers and riders”.

Before this move, Ryde would charge its drivers a commission of 10 per cent. Ride-hailing platforms Grab and Gojek, respectively, collect a variable commission and a 10 per cent commission per ride. Tada does not charge its drivers any commission.

A Ryde spokesman said there were no plans to replace its commission with other fees.

That said, the spokesman said it will continue to charge a commission to carpool drivers and a platform fee to riders. A payment transaction fee of 1.9 per cent plus 24 cents will also be included for non-cash payments in 2024.

Ryde’s platform fee, which is charged to users, is currently priced at 50 cents for all rides, except RydeTAXI.

But from Jan 2, 2024, this fee will go up to 55 cents for rides that cost $18 and below, and 76 cents for rides that cost more than $18.

Ryde founder and chief executive Terence Zou said: “By removing driver commissions, we are not only enabling our drivers to take home more of their well-deserved earnings, we are making an investment in our driver community.”

But drivers told The Straits Times the move may benefit Ryde more than them.

Mr Dawson Pang, 51, who was part of a group of drivers put on a pilot initiative with 0 per cent commission, said he hoped Ryde would not use this move as an excuse to lower trip fares.

“However, regardless of which ride-hailing platform one is on, it is important that at the end of the day, drivers who do not need to pay commission don’t earn less than those paying commissions,” said Mr Pang, who has been a private-hire driver for about eight years.

He added that the current fares are reasonable and hopes Ryde will continue to offer the same fares when commission fees are removed on Jan 2.

Another driver, who has been using Ryde for three years and was also part of the group of drivers on the pilot initiative, said Ryde was lowering its fare prices to compete with other ride-hailing operators such as Grab and Tada.

The driver, who wanted to be known only as Ted, said his earnings did not drop during the pilot, but he expects Ryde to lower base fares when it removes commission fees for all drivers in 2024.

“Ryde’s overall booking volume increases, but its fare price will decrease, so it does not benefit us,” he said.