BlueSG waives subscription fee for January after glitches with app in December, but some users say it's not enough

SINGAPORE: Car-sharing firm BlueSG announced on Wednesday (Jan 10) that it would be waiving its January subscription fee "for any inconvenience caused", but subscribers said that the move is not enough.

In a Facebook post, the company thanked its customers for their "unwavering support ... during challenging times" and said that it is "fully committed to making things right".

All users will receive a subscription waiver, covering the billing cycle from Jan 1 to Jan 31. 

"We're also exploring compensation for those significantly affected, including premium subscribers," BlueSG added.

"Rest assured, our teams have implemented fixes for a better user experience."

However, several users who spoke to TODAY on Wednesday said that more could be done and that the fee for December 2023 should also be waived.

Since last month, users have faced several problems when using BlueSG's services. There were glitches that resulted in inaccurate charges and users were unable to find their reserved cars or parking spots, for instance.

BlueSG's unresponsive customer service at the time further soured the situation, users told TODAY last month.

In response to queries then, BlueSG's chief executive officer Kelvin Tay said that the glitches were due to "unexpected technical complexities" after systems migration updates on Dec 19, 2023.

Mr Tay apologised for the frustration and inconvenience caused, and added that BlueSG card payments for affected trips would not be processed until they were individually reviewed.

The glitches that rendered the service "unusable" were why 25-year-old sales consultant Ken Ang cancelled his subscription to BlueSG on Jan 1.

"BlueSG should waive the subscription fee (for) December 2023 as well since most users faced issues in that month," he said, recalling that he had problems with the mobile application.

"But most importantly, they should fix the app, or else more people will unsubscribe."

Mr Shahir Ismail, 28, an assistant engineer, welcomed BlueSG's announcement but also said that December 2023's subscription fee should be waived because "many members could not rent BlueSG vehicles at all" last month.

Acknowledging that the company has improved communication with its members on the glitches, Mr Ismail said that BlueSG needs to sort things out "until the service is fully operational with no hiccups" and he is hoping that there will be an estimated date for that.

"Until then, a waiver of (January 2024's) subscription fee is a good move to ensure that members do not pay for nothing," he added.

Mr Michael Khaw, 54, a senior information technology manager, said that the troubles he had encountered were disruptive, after he was overcharged for renting a car that he could not return.

He also said that the January 2024 waiver was "not a good compensation".

Having had trouble contacting BlueSG from Dec 23 to Jan 5 for the overcharging matter, he said that the company should waive subscription fees for the whole year.

On BlueSG's Facebook post announcing the waiver, several subscribers also asked the company to do more, including paying for users' transportation fees incurred when they were unable to rent a car.

BlueSG charges its subscribers S$8 a month for its basic membership plan, and S$18 a month for its premium plan.

Subscribers are also charged a rental fee of between 36 cents and 52 cents a minute, depending on the type of car rented.

This article was originally published in TODAY.