TADA, Singapore’s ride-hailing platform, launched ‘Hotpot’, a new pilot initiative, backed by an initial S$1 million ($700,000) of TADA’s investment.
This initiative is designed to support and stand behind drivers in rejecting high-commission platforms, while simultaneously rewarding them based on a transparent, verified record of their trips and efforts, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ‘Hotpot’ initiative addresses the market failure where high commissions and opaque algorithms squeeze earnings from drivers.
This forces drivers to work longer hours to maintain their income, contributing to a driver shortage.
Consequently, commuters face high, fluctuating fares that can sometimes exceed S$40 ($30.93) on high-demand routes.
These high-commission models allocate most of the financial strain to drivers.
Built on the MVL blockchain’s transparent public ledger, ‘Hotpot’ records driver activity openly and transparently, rewarding them fairly for their work on the platform.
This system fundamentally departs from proprietary loyalty schemes, which are controlled and can be devalued by the platform, to establish a true, community-driven mobility ecosystem.
On the financial front, drivers are navigating a new landscape of rising operational costs, like high COEs, and new mandatory long-term financial contributions.
While rigid high-commission models leave drivers to absorb these pressures alone, TADA is creating a new system for drivers to benefit from the platform that they power.
“There is a major disconnect in the ride-hailing industry with rigid business models that have gone unchallenged for far too long. Traditional ride-hailing platforms are engineered to make a profit by squeezing value from both drivers and riders through opaque algorithms and high commissions,
“Drivers shouldn’t be paying away their earnings in commissions, and riders shouldn’t be accepting cost-climbing fares as ‘the norm’. This is an opportunity to make a stand to Say No to Commission and build a fairer system, where everyone will share the value they create,” said Kay Woo, Founder of TADA and MVL.
‘Hotpot’ is the ethical mechanism for value distribution in the ride-hailing sector, giving drivers a transparent, verifiable, and long-term stake in the ecosystem.
Early indicators also show strong traction and support for ‘Hotpot’ from drivers as participation and earnings have risen steadily, with more drivers joining the pilot initiative. Here are the results from the very first Friday, December 12, of this movement.
It is noted that ‘Hotpot’ is a community-driven reward system that gives drivers TADA points for every trip they complete.
Drivers earn TADA Points for every trip they complete. The number of TADA points a driver accumulates determines their eligibility for Group Rewards, which provide additional cash incentives every Friday from 5 PM to 10 PM.
Meanwhile, drivers are grouped based on their ranking. This mechanism shifts earnings from short-term, individual bonuses to a verifiable system where collective effort directly enhances every driver’s income, ensuring they share in the value they create.
To make these rewards fully transparent, all contributions are recorded on the MVL blockchain, creating a tamper-proof record of each driver’s impact.
This system gives drivers a long-term, verifiable stake in the ecosystem, preparing them to become future owners of mobility data and next-generation services like autonomous vehicles.
“This isn’t a promotion or marketing gimmick. We named this ‘Hotpot’ because in Asian culture, a hotpot is a meal where everyone contributes to the central pot and shares its flavor,
“This is our call for a more open, more equitable mobility future for Singapore. We are here to show that mobility can be built on fairness, and that the people who move the city deserve to benefit from it,” Woo clarified.
It is noted that ‘Hotpot’ is the first step in TADA and MVL’s long-term vision.
Their next tangible phase, scheduled for early next year, is to introduce community decision making, dedicate enhanced capital and resources to scale this initiative in the region.
Their ultimate goal is to build a system that gives drivers a verifiable voice in shaping future decisions in the ride-hailing sector as well as TADA’s business.