Under the Radar: What should we know about the bold strides made by ComfortDelGro in rolling out Autonomous Mobility services in Singapore?

Today we’re going to revisit one of our guests that’s long been a cornerstone of Singapore’s mobility ecosystem.

Think the yellow and blue coloured taxis that ply the streets, or the SBS Transit buses and Mass Rapid Transport or MRT trains we take to work and to go home.

Bingo if you’ve guessed ComfortDelGro, a household name in Singapore that has also evolved into one of the largest land transport firms in the globe.

And talking about evolution and change, 2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the group’s point-to-point business, having in September acquired all of ST Engineering Land Systems’ shares in taxi operator CityCab for a total purchase consideration of S$116.3 million.

While ComfortDelGro had been managing CityCab since 2005, what would the full ownership of CityCab mean for ComfortDelGro?

But beyond acquisitions, ComfortDelGro is also making bold strides in the autonomous mobility space.

The firm had in March launched its first robotaxi pilot programme in Guangzhou, China, as part of a partnership with Pony AI, a company involved in the large-scale commercialisation of autonomous mobility.

And in September, the firm announced that it would expand the autonomous mobility services to Singapore, starting with the Punggol area early next year, in line with the country’s plan to integrate mobility solutions into existing transportation infrastructure.

But what should we know about the move, and how would the introduction of autonomous vehicles shake up the point-to-point mobility ecosystem, and in particular, the relationship between customers and taxi or private hire drivers?

On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Michael Huang, Head of Singapore Point-to-Point Mobility Business, and CEO of China Business Unit, ComfortDelGro.

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