SINGAPORE - Local ride-hailing service Tada is extending until July 31 a temporary fare hike it had imposed in April to help cushion its drivers from higher fuel prices.

This follows similar moves by rivals Grab, Gojek and ComfortDelGro this month.

Since April 4, Tada passengers have had to pay an extra 50 cents for trips that cost $18 and lower, and an extra 80 cents for trips that cost $18.10 or higher.

This will continue for the next two months, and will be reviewed should fuel prices fall thereafter.

In a statement on Saturday (May 21), Tada noted that pump prices here remain inflated after rising in March on the back of the war in Ukraine.

"Drivers have provided feedback that the temporary fee increment has given them more security and certainty in their take-home earnings, and we hope to continue extending this job security to them amidst rising prices," said Tada's general manager Jonathan Chua.

To ease the blow on commuters, Tada will offer a limited number of $1 vouchers every day for next month. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and carefully calibrate any decisions during this period," Mr Chua added.

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Gojek said in an e-mail to users on Thursday (May 19) that it is retaining the additional fee it had imposed on March 31 until at least July 31, as fuel prices remain volatile.

Trips under 10km now cost 50 cents more, while longer trips cost 80 cents more.

The additional fee is passed on to its drivers, the firm said.

On May 12, Grab extended a temporary driver fee of 50 cents per ride for all of its transport services, except for the standard taxi service, until July 31.

The fee, imposed since April 1, was initially supposed to last until May 31.

ComfortDelGro, Singapore's largest taxi operator, also extended a temporary one-cent increase in its distance and waiting time fares on May 12.

The fare hike, introduced on April 4, will last until 11.59pm on July 31 instead.

With the hike, passengers on regular ComfortDelGro cabs are currently being charged 25 cents for every 400m travelled up to 10km, every 350m travelled after 10km, and every 45 seconds or less of waiting time.

This amounts to a fare increase of about 32 cents for a 10km taxi ride, said the company, which operates a fleet of 8,800 cabs, or 60 per cent of the taxi population here.

On Friday, The Straits Times reported that fuel pump prices had reached new highs, breaching previous records set in early March despite softer oil prices.

According to Fuel Kaki, a fuel price tracker initiated by the Consumers Association of Singapore, a litre of diesel now costs between $3 and $3.05 - up to 15 per cent higher than the previous peak in March.

A litre of 92-octane petrol now ranges from $3.13 to $3.20, or 7 per cent higher than in March.

This is despite the benchmark Brent crude closing at around US$109 a barrel on Thursday, down from nearly US$128 a barrel on March 8.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.