Have you ever reviewed your monthly budget and grimaced at how much you spend on ride-hailing and taxis? Those short trips to the office or meeting friends for dinner can add up! But is it worth the cost? If you’re interested in saving money without giving up the convenience and comfort of a car, you might want to consider carsharing for your everyday journeys.

I was a frequent user of ride-hailing services, but when I sat down and compared the costs for most of my regular trips, carsharing came out cheaper almost every time. Read on to see how to score cheaper rides and keep your wallet happy. 🥰

How does carsharing work?

Carsharing allows you to make bookings for short periods — from a few hours to several days. You can book a car via an app anytime and pick it up from a designated parking spot in your neighbourhood. For Point A-to-A services like GetGo, simply return it to the same spot when you’re done.

Being able to book a car whenever I needed one and starting a drive from my neighbourhood was just as convenient as ride-hailing services and taxis. All I had to do was sign up for an account using Singpass Myinfo. Once my account was verified a few minutes later, I could search for an available car on the app. After taking photos to report the vehicle’s condition, I was ready to go!

Some people think that carsharing is more expensive, but it can save you more money than ride-hailing or booking a taxi. That’s because you only pay for what you use, and there’s no surge pricing or surcharges. Not only is it affordable, but it also helps to reduce Singapore’s carbon footprint.

Learn more about how carsharing works.

Choosing from various car options

(Photo: Merton Auto)

What I really enjoyed about carsharing was that there was a car for every occasion, whether I needed a standard sedan to drop my siblings off at school, a larger MPV to transport bulky items, or a premium vehicle to bring my friends for an impromptu drive.

While you can choose between 4-seaters, 6-seaters, premium, and high-end vehicles with ride-hailing services and taxis, carsharing lets you pick the exact make and model that suits your mood. I could even opt for an environmentally friendly hybrid or electric car.

Here’s the price comparison for 1-hour drives that I made with GetGo versus the cost of ride-hailing and taxi bookings. All journeys were from my home in Clementi to Raffles Place during off-peak hours.

Take a look at all the cars GetGo has to offer.

Comparing surge pricing and surcharges

(Photo: epSos.de)

Whether it’s rush hour, a rainy day, or you need to fetch someone from the airport, ride-hailing services and taxis often implement surge pricing and surcharges that can easily double the normal fare or more. But these are the times when you need a drive the most, so I tallied up what I spent on these occasions and compared them to how much it cost to do the same things with carsharing. What came in handy was booking in advance so I could avoid surge pricing and competing with other users. Without additional fees, the relatively cheaper carsharing cost was a lot easier on my wallet than the other car options.

Again, these were 1-hour carsharing bookings weighed against ride-hailing and taxi services, with all drives from my home in Clementi to Raffles Place or Changi Airport.

Learn more about off-peak, normal, peak, and full-day pricing with GetGo. 

Making different types of journeys

The best part about carsharing is choosing the right car for my journey. Aside from impressing my friends with the cool tech features found in the electric vehicle (EV) that I booked, I could also take better charge of my drives and save money.

For example, carsharing was usually the most budget-friendly choice for round trips and drives with multiple pick-up or drop-off points. The pay-as-you-go carsharing fares meant I only paid for the time and distance needed to use the vehicle. In contrast, I’d have to pay the full fare for both legs of my trip if I used a taxi or ride-hailing service charge based on distance.

I tried out several scenarios during my everyday journeys, all at off-peak hours.

• Round trip: going to a nearby furniture store and transporting bulky items back home
• Multiple pick-up and drop-off points: driving my friends back to their homes
• Long journey: driving from Clementi to my best friend’s house in Pasir Ris
• Short journey: driving from Clementi to pick up my younger sibling from school

Note: For all cost comparisons, the lower limit was based on booking a standard 4-seater, while the upper limit was based on a high-end 4-seater. The carsharing costs also included the price of driving back to the original location, while ride-hailing and taxi booking services were largely one-way trips except for the round trip price. Information is accurate as of 20 November 2023.

Opting for the drive that suits your needs

While carsharing is a more budget-friendly option for my daily commute and errands, using a ride-hailing or taxi service is still super convenient for the times when I cannot drive. Sometimes, I’m exhausted after work or coming home after a night at the bar, and it’s safer for me to take the backseat.

If carsharing is right for you, consider it the next time you need to check off your to-do list or head into town. The extra money in your pocket might be worth the small change in habit!

Check out our TikTok video to see how much we spent in a week on carsharing with GetGo! 🎥

Happy saving!
June 💌