Will Grab and Uber be threatened by its new competitor?
Move over Uber and Grab, SixTNC is the latest private-hire car service to make its debut here in Singapore!
SixTNC hails from Indonesia and what makes it different from Uber and Grab is its business model, which mainly focuses on rewarding its users based on a referral scheme.
Amongst others, it boldly claims that drivers can earn an annual six-figure income by driving just eight hours a day.
Doing the math, this would work out to be approximately $8.3k a month for the same hours as a nine to five job.
How The Scheme Works
A driver who recommends another driver to join will earn a five percent cut of the latter’s earnings.
All drivers have to pay twenty percent of their earnings to the company.
The annual income of $100,000 is reportedly possible if the driver ropes in 30 others, and under the assumption that they earn at least $150 a day.
Commuters will also be able to earn five percent of the cut should they recommend a driver.
Already In Operation Here
According to SixTNC’s managing director James Lee, there are already around 100 SixTNC drivers who are on the roads today.
However, the number of drivers and passengers who have used the service is currently unknown as the “control panel is not in Singapore”
High Demand?
Mr Lee also disclosed that more than 1,000 drivers, who are already Uber or Grab drivers with Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence, has since indicated their interest.
Responses From The Public
The bold claims of the high annual income have led to many netizens expressing their distrust and likened it to the scheme of a “Multi-Level Marketing” model, and some even cautioned others against falling for this.
However, there were also netizens who welcomed the news as it would lead to greater competition between the private hire car industry.
Comparing prices
To get a better sense of where the app stands in terms of pricing, we compared the prices between the 3 firms to show which is the most competitive one.
The pickup point and destination for all three firms were the same, starting at Ang Mo Kio MRT with the destination being Ion Orchard.
SixTNC
Grab
Uber
Comparing Prices
| SixTNC | Grab | Uber |
| Standard – $14.34 | JustGrab – $13 GrabCar – $15 |
UberX – $12.48 |
Using the Standard service for sixTNC, JustGrab or GrabCar for Grab, and UberX for Uber as points of comparison, Uber seems to be the cheapest here at $12.48 – approximately $2.52 cheaper than the most expensive option.
However, there are other factors that come into play when comparing the prices of these private hire car services.
Firstly, there might be a surcharge caused by the high demand for the cars as well as the availability of promotional codes. Also, Grab has a loyalty programme that enables users to collect points every time they ride with the company.
Do note, however, that SixTNC is currently only available on Android.
Here To Stay?
The most important question is if their entrance will eventually lead to cheaper rides for users. As to whether SixTNC will be here to stay, I guess we will have to wait for the company’s next move.
