Converting Personal Car to Uber / Grab

In Singapore, many own a car, and during peak hours when commuting to work, a lot of the cars on the road are only occupied by the driver themselves, and maybe one passenger who is either the wife or the child. I think it is important for us to economise our fuel consumption and be friendly to car pool to the places we are going.
I feel that due to the culture in Singapore, people do not really like to talk and socialise with one another, hence many people do not like to have someone else in their car.
For me, I like to chat with different people as I was in the sales line. And I feel that we should help one another. I do not mind sitting in another person's car to commute to work. Fuel consumption is not much different and I can make a new friend! And so, I intend to try this line.
I was trying to convert my car for commercial use and I realised that the instructions given online by the different providers and LTA are confusing and I could not find the exact instructions that I need to go through in order to get the job done. In the midst of my frustrations, I decided to write down the steps to provide a guide for those who are keen in doing so.

For Car Owners (you already have a car)

For those who already have a car and wants to earn extra bucks with the current car, you will need to convert your current car to a commercial use rather than personal. You should already have bought your car insurance under your personal name. First of all, register a company under ACRA. For PDF guide, you may click here

  1. Log on to bizfile.gov.sg, and click on to Register Entity to register for a new company.
  2. Log in using your Singpass and password.
  3. Choose your company name for sole proprietorship and they will inform if it is not available.
  4. Choose "49219" for Primary business activity. This is the business code for Private Car for Hire with Operator.
  5. Then proceed to pay for the company name, about $15.
  6. Then add in "Application to Register Person(s) and Business Name"
  7. $100 payable for 1 year, $160 payable for 3 years.
  8. You then have an option to buy ACRA bizfile at $5.50 or $3.50 (only applicable if there is one owner), as you will need it for Uber/Grab and LTA conversion of the use of car. Click here for link.

Once you are done with the company registration, you will need to have your car commercially insured. As you will be a driver driving passengers, this insurance will ensure that you are protected in the event of an accident. Check out different quotes for your car. After getting the insurance, you will be able to transfer the car from you to the company name to make it a company car. Click here to see the documents required as they may change. The car will need to be registered as Z10/Z11, which refers to private hire (chauffeur) motor car and costs $11 for the conversion. Bring your ACRA and commercial insurance to LTA office for the conversion. 

Once you are done, you can register to be a private hire driver.

For To-Be Car Owners (you are going to buy a car)

If you are thinking of comparing between buying or renting a car for private hire, then you might want to research further before going into it. 

Driving Own Car

  • Maintain at own expense
  • Need to convert to company car
  • $115 for registration of company
  • Need to pay for commercial insurance which is usually 3x of personal insurance

Driving Rented Car

Just pay and drive!

I have done some calculations myself and found out that it is actually cheaper to buy your own car and use for private hire. See below for the calculations that I have made.

Monthly Depreciation: $1000
Monthly Insurance: $200 ($2400/12)
Monthly Maintenance: $100 (assuming we maintain the car every month due to the high usage)
Monthly road tax: $50

Total is $1350.

Comparing with Uber, which rents their cars at $67 per day, it will cost $1800 a month. So if we use our own car and service it every month, we still pay $450 short. So for me, I would go for a short term car and use it for private hire.