SINGAPORE – Malaysian transport service provider Kummute has begun offering online bookings for licensed taxis from Malaysia to Singapore via its app, although Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it has not approved any ride-hailing platform to provide cross-border rides.
The ride-hailing firm launched this service – known as CB Taxi – as an option on its app on Sept 30. According to Kummute, the option allows travellers to book licensed cross-border taxis from anywhere in Peninsular Malaysia, to Ban San Street Terminal in downtown Singapore.
In response to media queries, LTA said on Oct 10 it has not approved any ride-hailing platform to provide cross-border services.
“We are working with Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) to clarify the business model of Kummute’s e-hailing platform,” said an LTA spokesperson.
The LTA said that its approach is to facilitate convenience for passengers by allowing licensed taxis to offer cross-border trips through approved platforms, while ensuring proper regulatory oversight.
“Cross-border taxi services are based on reciprocal arrangements, any proposals will need to be carefully studied and jointly agreed with our Malaysian counterparts,” added the spokesperson.
The Straits Times’ checks on Apad’s website show that Kummute is on a list of 32 authorised e-hailing service providers for rides within Malaysia. Before CB Taxi, the app has been offering ride-pooling services within Malaysia in areas including the Klang Valley, Johor and Penang.
Currently, travellers in Singapore can make an online booking for licensed cross-border taxis to Larkin in Johor Bahru through operators ComfortDelGro and Strides Premier.
A taxi ride across the Causeway can be booked via ComfortDelgro’s hotline and an online form on Strides Premier’s website, with fixed fares ranging from $60 to $120.
Strides Premier also offers a fixed RM120 (S$37) fare for a ride from Larkin to Ban San Street.
For the CB Taxi cross-border service, users can book rides 30 minutes in advance, with distance-based fares shown upfront on the Kummute app.
Users with a verified Singapore phone number can also register for an account on the app.
Kummute has positioned itself as the first company to provide online bookings for legal cross-border transport rides from Malaysia.
“We work with licensed cross-border taxi operators who already hold the necessary permits, so our role is simply to make bookings easier through the app,” said Kummute’s head of business Kenny Hew in response to The Straits Times’ queries.
“Our understanding is that Malaysia to Singapore trips fall under Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport or Apad’s licensing framework, since we are providing the booking platform and not operating the taxis ourselves.”
He said that there are currently around 120 licensed cross-border drivers signed up on the app.
“When drivers register with us, they are required to submit all relevant permits for verification before being approved to join the platform,” said Mr Hew.
Checks on Oct 10 showed that fares from popular shopping malls in Johor, such as Paradigm Mall or Aeon Tebrau City, cost around RM220, including a RM25 booking fee.
One Singaporean traveller, who booked a CB Taxi ride that cost him RM199 from Johor Bahru’s Mid Valley Southkey mall to Ban San Street, said the service offered him and his family of four the convenience of crossing the Causeway without needing to trek across the two checkpoints by foot.
“Taking the bus is a problem for me at the Causeway,” said Mr Sham Mamat, explaining that he would need to carry his two young children, aged four and two, through both checkpoints. “The taxi could not continue directly to my house, but this service is okay, I just need to take another ride from Ban San Street.”
He said he was picked up by an official Malaysian taxi, with its licences displayed on the blue vehicle with a plate registration starting with H, used by registered taxis in Malaysia.
A screengrab of ride booking details on Kummute’s app interface. The licensed blue taxi took Mr Sham Mamat and his family across the Causeway.
PHOTOS: ST READER
Kummute’s Mr Hew said the firm is currently seeking approval to offer online bookings for licensed cab rides from Singapore to Malaysia.
He added the company is ensuring that “everything is aligned with the relevant authorities on both sides” before offering cross-border trips from Singapore to Malaysia.
The authorities on both sides of the Causeway have been cracking down on illegal ride-hailing and cross-border transport providers, with
over 100 vehicles seized in Singapore
since July.
The current reciprocal cross-border taxi arrangement allows up to 200 licensed taxis each from Singapore and Malaysia to ferry passengers between the Republic and JB.
A Singapore-registered taxi can pick up or drop off passengers at only one place in Malaysia – Larkin Sentral – while a Malaysia-registered cab can do the same in Singapore only at Ban San Street Terminal.
Close to 300 taxis in total are currently licensed to do so, according to the LTA.
LTA requires a Malaysia-registered taxi to have a Public Service Vehicle Licence and an Asean Public Service Vehicle Permit to provide cross-border transport.
Kummute first offered e-hailing services within Malaysia in September 2024, and largely operated in Johor Bahru, the Klang Valley and Bayan Lepas in Penang.
It rebranded from Kumpool, a low-cost, on-demand shuttle or ride-sharing service that is still operating, with its name playing on the word “kumpul” or to gather in Malay. Fares for rides with designated pickup and drop-off points started from RM1.
