ComfortDelGro's comfortable pandemic progress

ComfortDelGro operates in six countries around the world, but its business in Singapore counts for over 55% of its revenue. While Grab and Gojek hit the Covid speed bump in SE Asia, what's making the taxi/bus/metro operating company chug along?

ComfortDelGro has sat atop a transport empire in Singapore, operating everything from taxis to buses to trains

The emergence of Grab and now Gojek has slowed its taxi business as riders and drivers jump ship

But Covid-19 has been a great leveller in making the playing field more even for ComfortDelGro against Grab and Gojek

There’s also an ace it has up its sleeve against these ride-hailing upstarts—public transport

With the pandemic putting a stop to international air travel for the most part this year, every country in Southeast Asia pushed for ways to promote domestic air travel. Except Singapore.

That’s because Singapore is so small it has no domestic air travel. What it does have though are taxis, buses, and the metro.

Singapore has been pushing for Singaporeans to spend time travelling within the island nation this year. The idea, as Chaly Mah, Singapore Tourism Board Chairman, said in a recent interview interview CNBC Singapore launches domestic travel campaign amid coronavirus: Tourism board chairman Read more , is to get Singaporeans to spend S$34 billion (US$25 billion)—the amount they spent travelling overseas last year—within the country.

AUTHOR

Benjamin Cher

Based in Singapore, Ben covers news and stories from the hub of Southeast Asia. He covers the intersection of technology and business, and how it affects Singapore and Southeast Asia. Ben was previously a reporter at The Edge Singapore.

View Full Profile

Others tell you what. We tell you the ‘So What?’

Read articles that decode the most significant shifts happening around business, technology, startups and healthcare. 1000+ articles for subscribers of the India edition. 150+ articles for subscribers of the Southeast Asia edition. Plus premium newsletters that help you make sense of the world around you.

So much journalism in India is superficial.

Articles are generic, almost cookie-cutter in their approach. And they don’t provide enough context on the issues they cover. The Ken is different. I don’t always agree with everything they say but I appreciate their commitment to publishing deeply reported narratives and investigations. Their reporters find new ways to analyze tech among other industries. And that’s always worth a read.

Sid Talwar / Co-Founder and Partner / Lightbox Venture Capital

As entrepreneurs, we thrive on being in the know at all times.

A personal subscription to The Ken was a no brainer. But as startup founders, this isn't enough. Team members also need to be in the know, for everyone handles customer-facing responsibilities and an ecosystem change that impacts customers also impacts us

Kiran Jonnalagadda / Co-founder / HasGeek and Internet Freedom Foundation