How to beat expensive COEs for vans

SINGAPORE — Results for the latest auction for Certificates Of Entitlement (COEs) were mixed yesterday, with lower prices for potential car and motorcycle buyers, but no relief for those looking for commercial vehicles. The Category C COE — for van, lorries, buses and so on — was the only one to rise in price, climbing to $52,001 at the close of bidding.

But one tech company says there’s a way to beat high COE prices, by connecting independent drivers and bike riders with people who need to have something delivered.

Last Friday, EasyVan (think of it as Uber but for van drivers) rebrand itself “lalamove”, a change that reflects the fact that it now includes lorries and motorcycles in its fleet of available vehicles.

“The switch to lalamove makes sense at this juncture as we continue to expand our platform to include different types of vehicles,” says Blake Larson, the company’s head of international expansion.

Lalamove should come in handy if you’ve gone on a rampage at Ikea and need a way to haul your stuff home immediately, but the company says its service allows businesses to have an on-demand fleet of vehicles without the need to actually own one.

“Small and medium sized businesses love the flexibility of our service as it provides them with instant access to the largest fleet of delivery and moving vehicles in Singapore,” says Larson.

To go with the rebranding, the company has launched new websitethat allows on-line booking and tracking. It complements the “lalamove by EasVan” app for iOS and Android.

The company is giving away $1m in free deliveries to new customers who use the promo code “NOWLALAMOVE”. Time for that trip to Ikea?

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