$0.50 an hour car rental now available in Singapore, supper run anyone?

Thinking of renting a car to run errands or for when buses and trains are not operating in the wee hours of the night? You can now do it for just $0.50 an hour. 

Tribecar announced their most affordable rental rates yet yesterday (Jan 5). Rent their “super economy” range of vehicles during the “super off-peak” hours and you only have to pay $0.50 for every hour of usage.

Super off-peak hours for Tribecar are defined as Mondays to Thursdays from 12am to 6am. And though these hours are far from when you’d normally like to rent a car, it's still useful if you need or want to head out during the wee hours of the night, when public transport might actually be a more expensive option.  

Rent your car for $0.50/hour after midnight

Why would you need a car after midnight you might think? Driving out for supper after a night of online gaming or spur-of-the-moment mahjong sessions are some possibilities that come to mind.

For such activities, renting a car for four hours should be sufficient. This includes giving a generous buffer for picking up the friends, going for supper, having a sit-down and chit chat after the meal, and then sending everyone home. With these rental rates, it would amount to just $2.14 (after GST). 

What may be an issue though is if you are picky about the type of car you are driving. From their website, it seems the only vehicles in the super-off peak tier are Toyota Wish and Toyota Altis models currently. They are however available for pick up across the island, from Jurong to Tampines, and up north to Sembawang.

What you need to know about renting from Tribecar

For those unfamiliar, after making your booking, you have to pick up the car from the designated point, check and note for any aesthetic damages (so you have proof that it wasn’t you who made them), and then check that the low-fuel warning light isn’t lit up. In short, do your due diligence.

Next head to a petrol station and fill the car up with the amount of fuel you'll need. Unlike other car rental places, you don't need to return the car with a full or three-quarters filled tank — as long as the low-fuel warning light is not turned on. Otherwise, you'll face a fine from Tribecar.

Before ending the trip on the website, head back to the same spot you picked up the car, check for any damages to the car and take a picture of the dashboard —the trip meter should be reset to 0km and the low-fuel light not on. 

Do also keep a record of the car’s state, in the event that a damage claim is made against you. Horror stories of renters having to pay for damages they didn’t cause can be found online, so keep pictures with you. 

There are no details on whether this $0.50 hourly rate is permanent, but if you are looking to make an intra-Singapore supper road trip, you should take advantage of it while it's still available.  

jayjaylin@asiaone.com