Did you know that private-hire drivers have to attach decals to the front and back of their cars?

This was enforced from 1 July 2017 onward to better protect commuters’ interest.

Did you know that people have tried testing the system even before 1 July? If you don’t, we actually did an article on it before.

So anyway, the decals were meant to be permanently stuck on the car, which annoys some drivers as they might not want the stickers there for certain reasons.

For example, some might have a proper day job and do not want anyone to know about their private-hire association.

And then there were those who were keen to make a good impression. Having a private-hire sticker doesn’t exactly help. Just imagine if you’re out for a date and she sits on your car and spots the sticker.

Seeing as there was a possible market for that, Carousell User dd740 offered to ‘alter private-hire car decals’.

And LTA is quite understandably not happy about it.

By law, the decals aren’t supposed to be removed and would leave the word “Void” if peeled.

If caught, forgers of decals could be fined up to S$5,000 or jailed up to a year, or both. Whereas for those who fail to affix, display or otherwise engage in any form of tampering, altering, defacement, covering or obscuring of decals, they could be fined up to S$1,000 or jailed up to three months, or both.

Whereas for those who fail to affix, display or otherwise engage in any form of tampering, altering, defacement, covering or obscuring of decals, they could be fined up to S$1,000 or jailed up to three months, or both.

On August 16, in response to TODAY‘s queries, an LTA spokesperson confirmed that a Police report had been made against the seller, who had apparently touted his services online to “alter” the decals such that they become detachable.

The listing to adjust the decal, which had been up since July 11, has since been taken down. The seller, however, is still present on the site.

The seller, however, is still present on the site.

According to the seller, he could help possessors of the Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational License (PDVL) make their decals ‘removable’.

As a result, the word “Void” would not appear after the decal had been taken off the car’s windscreen. The decal could apparently be stuck back easily too.

The offer to adjust the decals was priced at S$30 a pop. To finalise the deal, you would have to meet up with him.

TODAY tried calling the seller (the number was included under one of his listings), and a man actually answered.

However, he denied selling any decals, claimed that he didn’t know anything about it and hung up.

What do Grab and Uber, the two major private-hire car companies in Singapore, think?

In response to TODAY’s questions, they said that drivers who still did not have their PDVLs as of July 1 would be punished with frozen accounts, at least until they attain the license.

Grab had around 5 percent of its active drivers suspended, while Uber did not share numbers.

Grab also have a team of “experienced enforcement officers” in July to go on routine checks to ensure that drivers show the stickers appropriately, and bring their PDVL or LTA concession letter with them.

On Uber’s side, they publicly denounced any illegal acts by their drivers.

However, they would not overshadow the LTA in imposing the PDVL and other road traffic requirements and are more than willing to cooperate with the authorities to make sure of their drivers’ compliance.

What do private-hire drivers out there think? Do you think the decals are unnecessary, or do you share the LTA’s mindset?

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• Wah, People Are Testing the System By Having Stickers to Mask PDVL Label
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Feature Image: Carousell

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com