It is a well-known fact that owning a car in Singapore can be costly for the average customer. Luckily, there are startups in the market that aim to make it more accessible. Car-sharing platform Tribecar is one.

Tribecar was started as a platform to help private-hire vehicle (PHV) drivers obtain cars for their trade. “Later on, the general public began to discover the convenience and affordability of Tribecar’s service through word of mouth. The competitive pricing of renting at S$2 an hour combined with the accessibility of the vehicles made Tribecar’s service very attractive to the general public,” says CEO and co-founder Adrian Lee, in an email interview with e27.

But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing customers to change their behaviour, eventually opening up new opportunities for the company.

“This is when we noticed more people are shifting to private cars for their daily commute, either to run errands or to send their children to school. Private cars have become a safe travel bubble for people who are concerned about their health and safety due to COVID-19 and as such,” Lee says.

To respond to the demand, especially in September, Tribecar introduced a subscription service that allows customers to rent a vehicle for only S$88 a month –instead of the usual price of S$128. It also introduces an initiative where new drivers (e.g. P-Plate drivers) can sign up for this subscription service without paying for an additional New Drivers’ Surcharge during the included free hours.

This subscription model will complement the existing ad-hoc car-sharing model.

How does this subscription model help the business forward, especially in a challenging time like this? How does Tribecar differentiate itself from other services using this model? What is next for the company?

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Find the answer in this interview with Lee.

Sustainability for both the business and customers

Before explaining the subscription model and its role in growing the business, Lee talks about the two types of Tribecar users — commercial drivers and the so-called “leisure drivers.”

“The commercial drivers are PHV drivers and courier and food delivery drivers who use our vans, lorries and motorcycles for their jobs. Leisure drivers include new drivers who have yet to purchase their first car, as well as young families that are looking for a vehicle to run errands or ferry the kids to school,” he elaborates further.

The subscription model is meant to make it easier for these two groups of users to get the right kind of service for their needs.

“Tribecar believes in striking a balance, which is why we have launched a new subscription service to complement our usual ad-hoc car-sharing services. We believe that meeting our customers’ demands requires flexibility, and we want to give our customers the best of both worlds,” Lee explains it from the users’ point of view.

“Additionally, our new subscription service also provides a more predictable cash flow as opposed to ad-hoc usage, since members who sign up with us have their subscription renewed monthly for their convenience,” he shares.

In addition to making car ownership more accessible for the Average Joes and Janes, in the long run, Tribecar also hopes to create a more sustainable future.

“When we started Tribecar, we did it intending to make driving affordable, which is why we feel budget shouldn’t be a roadblock to being able to have the convenience and flexibility of ‘owning’ a car. With this increased convenience, we believe that we will be able to convince our customers to let go of their privately-owned cars and work towards a green, sustainable future,” Lee says.

Nowadays, with the acceptance of ride-hailing services that Uber has popularised, one might think of companies such as Grab and Gojek when they are thinking of the modern way to commute. As a car-sharing platform, Tribecar doesn’t see ride-hailing services as competition. In fact, some private hire drivers even use Tribecar cars.

“Additionally, our members are also using our service to run errands and are often making multiple stops. Unlike taxi or ride-hailing services that charge more for multiple stops or are typically used to get from point A to point B, our platform allows users to have the freedom and flexibility to plan their time and destinations without having to pay more. Typically, for an errand run with four to five locations. At around S$10 per taxi trip, the trip would cost around S$50 in total,” Lee stresses.

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“But, with our hourly rental, they may pay as little as S$6 for three hours of use for the same errand run.”

The next destination

Based in Singapore, Tribecar is run by a team of more than 50 members. Before founding the company, Lee and co-founder Paul Tan have worked together to build Drive.SG in 2011. Remaining consistent in the transportation sector, the co-founders then started Tribecar to use the concept of car-sharing rental on an hourly basis to cater to the rise of ride-hailing in Singapore.

Nowadays, Tribecar even has a partnership with Drive.SG, aiming to support environmental sustainability by including Tesla cars in its long-term car leasing initiative. According to a statement, although Tesla cars are not part of Tribecar’s fleet, Tribecar members will be able to lease them at an affordable price and experience “owning” a car with zero down payment.

Tribecar is currently a self-funded company. However, Lee states that it is open to the possibility of raising external funding.

As for its goals for the future, the company aims to put customer satisfaction first by continuously looking for ways to add value for customers.

“As such, Tribecar is constantly looking at how we can make commuting safer, more affordable, and more convenient for our customers. We will continue to invest in new technologies and will be expanding our team to provide better services to our customers,” he says.

“To do so, we are expanding locations beyond the recently added customer-requested locations at petrol stations, shopping centres, and HDBs. It will bring greater value as we did by introducing the subscription plan and providing long-term leases at wallet-friendly rates,” the CEO continues.

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Image Credit: Tribecar

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