New Bill Set to Regulate Private-Hire Car Operator & That Can Affect the Fares

If you’re like XiaoBeach73, you’ll go, “The headline talking what?”

So here’s a simpler version of the headline: soon, there might be laws to control the price of your private hire rides.

Kind of like how the prices of bus and train can’t be changed anyhowly by the operators.

Here’s what went down in Parliament yesterday (8 July 2019).

New Bill Tabled to Regulate Private-Hire Car Industry

You should know by now that the private-hire car industry is very new—so new, your grandparents are wondering why you’ve the guts to sit in a stranger’s car with a poker face.

There’s of course a vocational licence framework that started on 1 July 2017—prior to that, anyone with a car can be a private-hire car driver. Since 1 July 2017, new rules were implemented: for example, drivers would need to pass a test and they must have two decals on their car.

But that framework is more of to ensure that private-hire car drivers don’t anyhowly drive; just think of it as a regulation to ensure that PHV drivers are the same as taxi drivers.

However, the price of the ride and whatnot are still determined by the operator.

Apparently, with the industry developing so rapidly, the authorities are looking to regulate not just the drivers but the operators as well.

A bill is like a proposal set to be debated by lawmakers—it’ll then be voted in as law or would be discarded.

So, yesterday, a new Bill called the Point-to-Point (P2P) Passenger Transport Industry Bill was tabled (i.e. proposed).

The Bill “targets” both PHV operators and taxi operators, which they called the former ride-hail services and the latter street-hail services.

The Bill is looking to regulate and refine the penalty fee regime in the context of street-hail services and ride-hail services (e.g. how much fine to pay if Go-Jek didn’t ensure that its driver has a PDVL).

The goal is to provide sufficient regulatory oversight to protect the safety and interests of commuters and drivers.

And here’s the thing that’ll interest you.

Fare Policy?

Early this year, LTA held a feedback exercise and garnered 86 suggestions from the public, and some of these suggestions are being included in the Bill.

And the suggestion that’s most interesting?

The fares should be regulated, just like buses and trains.

However, that’s to prevent operators from “artificially lowering prices to gain market share.”

That means Grab and Go-Jek should set a standard price for all, and not to lower price just to gain more users.

Now, of course you’d think that, that’s crazy, but think of the poor drivers who’re affected by the price changes.

Good or bad?

More details will be available next month during the Bill’s second reading.

In the meantime, let’s just say that the private hire car industry is really going on full drive.