[SINGAPORE] The Land Transport Authority (LTA) issued a street-hail service operator licence to Singaporean ride-hail and delivery company Grab.
In a statement on Wednesday (Apr 2), LTA said the licence is valid for 10 years from Apr 9, and was awarded to GrabCab, a subsidiary of Grab Rentals and sister company of GrabCar.
GrabCar is the ride-hail and food delivery subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Grab Holdings, and currently has ride-hail and car-pooling operator licences.
A street-hail service operator licence allows a company to operate taxis, which can serve both street-hail and ride-hail rides. Private-hire cars can only be used to serve ride-hailing trips.
A Grab spokesperson said that the company will introduce GrabCab, a taxi fleet to complement private-hire cars on its platform, and allow it to address unmet consumer demand and improve ride availability, particularly during peak hours, late nights and in areas accessible only by taxis.
“It also positions us to better serve the anticipated growth in point-to-point rides in the coming years, while catering to consumers who prefer street-hailing,” he added.
The street-hail licence makes Grab the sixth taxi company here, after CityCab and Comfort Transportation (both subsidiaries of ComfortDelGro), Prime Taxi, Strides Premier, and Trans-cab Services.
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LTA noted that GrabCab will be given a three-year grace period to progressively expand its fleet to at least 800 taxis, which is the minimum fleet size for a street-hail operator.
The Grab spokesperson added that the GrabCab fleet will be introduced in “the coming months (and will be) 100 per cent green… featuring popular low and zero-emission hybrid and electric vehicles from leading manufacturers”.
In 2024, Grab’s proposed acquisition of taxi operator Trans-cab Services fell through after both parties withdrew their application to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore.
In March this year, the regulator made moves to support taxi fleet growth, including continuing the suspension of a 2 per cent limit on taxi fleets’ annual growth, and allowing operators to access the used passenger car market to acquire or sell their vehicles.
As at February 2025, Singapore’s taxi population was 12,941, down from 28,736 in 2014. In the same timeframe, the private-hire car population increased to 91,446, from 18,847.
