Taxi drivers are having a tough time at the moment.

With the circuit breaker measures in place, finding a customer is like finding a tasty bubble tea from a hawker centre; it’s possible, but it doesn’t happen very often.

It’s a bit like being a newspaper company and finding out that the entire country would become illiterate for one month.

How are they supposed to make money?

Fortunately, some F&B establishments are experiencing a surge in orders, and they could use some help with the deliveries.

Eateries Can Now Engage ComfortDelGro Taxis for Food Delivery Services

That’s right, F&B outlets can now turn to ComfortDelGro Taxi drivers as another delivery service option.

From today (29 April), F&B outlets can sign up for the delivery service, called ComfortDelivery, and will have 10,000 taxis at their disposal.

The new delivery service will be available daily from 9am to 10pm.

According to CNA, the distance-based delivery charges will start at S$6.50. F&B outlets that book a taxi for two drop-offs in one booking will receive a discounted rate starting at S$8.50.

And the best thing about it?

All fees go directly to the taxi drivers, with no additional fees imposed on the drivers or F&B outlets during the CB period.

And just so you know, those taxi drivers with ComfortDelGro need not pay any rental during the whole CB period.

How It Works

Cabbies will first bid for the delivery jobs via the ComfortDelivery driver app. Upon collection, F&B outlets will pay the cabbies through PayNow or by cash.

Just like how you can track the location of the Grab you scheduled for your uncle, F&B outlets will also be able to track the location of the taxi, as well as the time of delivery.

ComfortDelGro Taxi chief executive Ang Wei Neng said that this service will give their cabbies a chance to “earn some extra income during these very challenging times.”

How To Sign Up

If you own an F&B establishment and want to sign up, all you have to do is head to the ComfortDelivery webpage and create an account.

If your F&B business has several outlets, however, you won’t be able to use the same account for all your outlets; you must create a separate one for each pick-up location.

And only about 20 orders of up to three different destinations per order can be made at any one time.

Delivering RedMart Groceries & McDonald’s Meals Too 

Did you know that taxi and PHC drivers are not actually allowed to deliver food and groceries?

Well, they weren’t before the coronavirus outbreak.

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But due to the increased demand for deliveries and lack of customers for taxi drivers, the government announced in March that there will be a “temporary liberalisation” of point-to-point regulations.

That’s why ComfortDelGro previously partnered up with RedMart and Mcdonald’s so their drivers could deliver groceries and McDonald’s meals too.

Just like delivering meals for F&B establishments, this partnership is beneficial for two reasons:

1. It helps these businesses cope with the growing surge of orders

2. It helps taxi drivers earn extra income during a financially tough period

Of course, McDonald’s is now closed, so this latest initiative will hopefully cover those lost McDonald’s deliveries.

As mentioned, ComfortDelGro has also helped out its cabbies by rolling out rental waivers, which cost them a whopping $19 million. And before that, they provided daily rental discounts of about $46.50 daily, in addition to other measures to soften the financial blow of Covid-19.

You have to hand it to the transport operator, they’re really taking care of their own.