No green light for Grab: Is it time to lift the cross-border ride-hailing ban?

Analysts backed Singapore’s decision to keep a ban on cross-border private ride-hailing service with Johor Bahru, Malaysia, citing adequate options and potential risks to the local taxi industry.

- 

Terence Fan, assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Singapore Management University, said licensed taxis are sufficient to meet the demand.

“During certain festive seasons, demand seems to outstrip current supply,” he told Singapore Business Review. “However, outside of this season, the current supply of cross-border taxis seems to be more than capable of handling the demand,” he continued.

The government on 3 August said it would not open the route to private-hire cars, keeping cross-border travel limited to licensed taxis under the Cross Border Taxi Scheme, which allows about 200 taxis from each side.

The city-state is unlikely to allow ride-hailing vehicles to cross the border unless alternatives can’t handle demand regularly, Fan said in an exclusive interview.

Daniel Chow, principal at Arthur D. Little Southeast Asia, said commuters already have other licensed public transport options, including cross-border buses and the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System, scheduled to begin service by late 2026.

He said opening the route to private-hire vehicles could erode taxi ridership, which is already below capacity. “The decision, whilst restrictive, is justified and strategically sound from a transport policy perspective.”