Uber offers discounts for commuters affected by Sunday's MRT closures
Uber is offering discounted rides in zones around the western part of Singapore and northern areas like Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak, on Sunday (Dec 8) where several stations will be closed. Photo: Uber Singapore
SINGAPORE – Ride-hailing firm Uber is offering targeted discounts for commuters who use its car-pooling service on Sunday (Dec 10), when 19 stations on the East-West and North-South Line (EWNSL) would be shut as part of efforts to free up more maintenance and engineering hours for SMRT.
The 19 affected stations would also see shortened operating hours for the next three weeks, starting from Friday night. The drastic move came after software problems caused two trains to collide at the Joo Koon station last month.
Uber said on Friday that existing users can use the code "MRT3OFF" to save S$3 on two Uberpool trips on Sunday, while new riders can apply the code "MRT8OFF" to get S$8 off an Uberpool or UberX ride on the same day.
Both promotional codes can only be used in areas where MRT stations would be closed, which extend from Tuas West, Bukit Gombak to Outram. The codes will apply from 6am to midnight.
"We are extending the discounts for riders who might need alternative transportation options at affected areas this Sunday," said a spokesperson for the ride-hailing firm.
However, Uber did not say if the offer would be extended to the following Sunday, Dec 17, when the 19 stations would be closed as well.
Uber's rival, Grab, had sent out a notification to its users on Thursday to promote its own car-pooling services. But Grab did not offer any new discounts in response to the MRT service disruptions.
"We have shared reminders with our driver-partners and are encouraging them to serve the affected areas, while Grab's real-time traffic monitoring system will enable us to detect and forecast areas with heavy passenger demand. This will allow us to alert drivers to head towards affected areas promptly, and ease demand before it builds up," a Grab spokesperson said in response to queries from TODAY.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced earlier in November that from Dec 8 to Dec 31, 17 EWL stations — from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link — and two NSL stations, Bukit Batok to Bukit Gombak, will close about an hour earlier at 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and open at 8am on Saturdays and Sundays instead of 5.30am.
Some 20,000 to 30,000 commuters are expected to be affected by the shortened hours.
In addition, SMRT has also extended selected bus services near affected stations to provide commuters with alternative transport options.
The rail operator will also provide shuttle bus services which will ply four main routes, in loops: From Tuas Link to Joo Koon, Joo Koon to Jurong East, Jurong East to Outram and Jurong East to Choa Chu Kang.
These shuttle services only operate from about 5am to 8am on days where stations open later, and from 11pm to about 2:30am on days where stations are expected to close early.
On Dec 10 and 17, these shuttle services will operate for the whole day.
The shuttle services are expected to operate at a frequency of about three to five minutes during peak periods, and five to ten minutes during off-peak periods.
Commuters will have to pay for these services, which will follow the same fare structure as trains. Detailed bus timings are available on SMRT's website.
