ComfortDelGro is extending its daily rental relief till September to help its taxi drivers affected by the prolonged virus outbreak - a move that it says will push it into the red.
The firm yesterday said its cabbies will now receive up to $46.50 per taxi per day in rental relief - comprising $36.50 from the company and $10 from the Government's Special Relief Fund (SRF).
The firm's portion was supposed to be pared down gradually next month and in May under its original timeline. But worsening economic conditions on the back of the virus crisis have made it "imperative that more help be extended to cabbies".
Thus, ComfortDelGro will match the SRF amount of $10 till September and, depending on the prevailing conditions, also extend the additional $26.50 per day relief till then. That is, each hirer can expect to receive $46.50 per day in rental relief from now until Sept 30, "if the situation does not improve".
The move is expected to cost the transport giant "as much as $80 million". If disbursed fully, it will effectively push its taxi division, under ComfortDelGro Taxi, into the red for the year ending Dec 31.
If so, it would be the "first time Singapore's largest taxi operator will post full-year losses", it said.
For financial year 2019, its taxi operating profit shrank to $104.2 million from $129.4 million in 2018. Its fleet stood at 10,801 at the end of January, down 11.6 per cent from the same time last year. It is expected to shrink further this year.
ComfortDelGro Taxi chief executive Ang Wei Neng said: "Our priority is our cabbies' survival. The dramatic drop in tourist arrivals, the increased number of people working from home, the enhanced measures to restrict crowds at shopping malls and eateries as well as the closure of nightspots are having a massive impact on our cabbies.
"It is unprecedented. Our cabbies are part of the ComfortDelGro family and we want to help them continue to put food on the table."
The firm will also pass on savings from a licence fee waiver and the $2,200 being given by the Government for each unhired taxi to cabbies through a waiver of the call levy till September. All these are over and above the $1,000 per month the Government is giving to the self-employed over the next nine months.
Cabby Henry Tay, 49, said he is happy for the relief. "Instead of having even more drivers return their cabs, they're saying 'let's bite the bullet together'."
