LTA Imposing New Regulations for Taxis & PHVs, Like Extending Taxi’s Lifespan

By
Kimi Tan
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If you haven’t already noticed, it’s harder to street-hail a cab these days. Although there are still a good number of taxis driving around Singapore, this number has almost halved compared to a decade ago.

This can probably be attributed to the growing popularity of ride-hailing apps like Grab and Gojek.

While ride-hailing apps make it easier for us to get taxis from places like our doorstep, there are many who are unfamiliar with such apps. Seniors and tourists may be less familiar with ride-hailing apps that some of us know like the back of our hand.

Commuters at locations with very high concentration of demand such as airports, ferry terminals, and large-scale events, may also find that it’s hard to find a private hire car (PHC) on a ride-hailing app.

Street-hail services hence play an important role in ensuring that Point-to-Point Transport (P2P) remains accessible to all commuters.

A reason for the decline in taxi supply is the higher regulatory requirements for taxis compared to PHCs, which translate to higher operating costs for taxi operators and vehicle rental rates for taxi drivers.

Changes to Regulatory Regime For Taxis and PHCs

LTA has reviewed their regulatory regime for taxis and PHCs and will be making some changes to the regulations.

First, the statutory lifespan of diesel, petrol, and hybrid taxis will be extended to 10 years, up from the current eight years. This gives taxi operators an additional two years to recover the cost of the vehicle.

The current taxi fleet remains well-maintained and roadworthy, with a high average First Inspection Passing Rate (FIPR) of 99.5% in 2023, above the passing standard of 98% for taxi operators.

FIPR is tracked monthly and refers to the percentage of vehicles that pass their vehicle inspection on the first attempt in that month.

Second, the inspection frequency for taxis less than three years old will be reduced from once every six months to once a year. This will minimise operational downtime for newer taxis, which also have high FIPR (99.8%), while still ensuring they are roadworthy.

Since the newer taxis will not need to be inspected as much in their first three years, this will also save on manpower.

Third, the inspection frequency for chauffeured PHCs more than 10 years old will be increased from once a year to every six months. Chauffeured PHCs refer to Z-class PHCs like those used by Grab.

Chauffeured PHCs which have been driven for a longer period may require more frequent maintenance and inspection. The FIPR of PHCs aged 10 years and above is 84.5%, below the passing standard of 90% applicable to the pool of P2P vehicles registered with each ride-hail operator.

The higher inspection frequency will ensure that older PHCs will still be able to provide safe and reliable P2P services for commuters.

Lastly, call-booking services will be removed for smaller taxi operators.

As of now, only 1% of all P2P trips are made via call-booking. Given the low utilisation rate, LTA will no longer require smaller taxi operators to maintain call-booking services.

While smaller taxi operators will no longer maintain call-booking services, ComfortDelGro will continue to offer these services so as to meet the needs of commuters who rely on them. ComfortDelGro currently fulfils 99% of call-booking trips.

LTA will work with the various taxi operators to ensure that cost savings, after accounting for additional maintenance expenses due to the increased statutory lifespan, will be passed on to taxi drivers.

To lower the effort and cost needed to obtain the Taxi Driver’s Vocational Licence (TDVL), LTA will streamline its training curriculum.

In doing so, LTA hopes to encourage more prospective P2P drivers to consider obtaining a TDVL, which allows drivers to drive either a taxi or a PHC.

This effort hopes to see an increase in taxi drivers, making it easier for commuters, especially those who do not use ride-hailing apps, to find P2P services.

Improving the resilience of P2P platforms

Imagine if all 55,000 attendees of Taylor Swift’s concert are trying to find a Grab or Gojek after the show but the apps suddenly crash.

Cue chaos.

Given the number of commuters and drivers relying on P2P services, their commutes and livelihoods will be affected if there are service disruptions.

To minimise the impact of such disruptions, LTA will establish guidelines for managing operational disruptions for all taxi and ride-hail operators.

Operators must promptly inform LTA, commuters, and drivers within an hour of the confirmation of a systemic incident that could impair P2P services, and submit a detailed incident report outlining measures taken to address the problem.

This will keep operators accountable.

Ride-hail operators must also develop and regularly review their contingency plans, including essential operating protocols and system enhancements to ensure timely service recovery and mitigate the recurrence of any systemic incidents.

Operators that intend to exit the market will be required to provide LTA with an exit plan and a minimum notice of 120 calendar days, which is double the current notice period of 60 calendar days.

Operators must also inform commuters and drivers of their exit at least 60 calendar days prior to the date of surrender of their licence. This will give drivers and commuters enough time to cash out their electronic wallets and make the switch to alternative platforms.

Improving The Matching of Different Commuter Groups to Service Types

LTA noted that some wheelchair users have faced limitations when booking ride-hail services as PHCs, unlike taxis, are not required to have sufficient boot space for a foldable wheelchair.

Moreover, young children below 1.35m must be secured in a child seat when travelling in a PHC. Some parents may not be aware of this regulation and either book the wrong service or fail to indicate that they require a child seat.

LTA will work with operators to increase the ease of indicating if one requires a vehicle that is able to accommodate a foldable wheelchair, or is equipped with a child seat.

Additionally, all commuters, upon receiving a match, will also be informed if the matched PHC is unable to accommodate a foldable wheelchair or does not come with a child seat.

Commuters who have forgotten to indicate his or her need or booked the wrong service will then be able to cancel and make a new booking within the grace period.

LTA will also work with operators to allow drivers to cancel the booking without incurring a penalty if commuters fail to indicate that they need boot space for a foldable wheelchair or a child seat.

This will help to match commuters to the correct service or vehicle better as well as help to avoid disputes between commuters and drivers.

The proposed changes will require adjustments to operational plans and services, so LTA will work with operators to include these changes and requirements as part of their licence renewal.

Further details on the implementation date of these changes and measures will come at a later date.

Fast Chargers for Electric Vehicles (EVs)

In January and February this year, about 30% of new cars registered here were Electric Vehicles (EVs), and almost 50% were hybrids.

To aid taxi and PHC drivers who use EVs top up their batteries faster during the day, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said that the government will roll out 120 fast chargers at about 60 Housing Board carparks islandwide. This includes those in Boon Lay, Redhill, Kallang Bahru, Tampines, and Woodlands.

These fast chargers will be found in HDB commercial buildings, as well as town and neighbourhood centres. They will also be in government agency JTC Corporation’s industrial premises that are frequented by high-mileage EV drivers during their breaks.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor also mentioned that concerns have been raised over non-EVs misusing EV charging parking spots, and the hogging of such spaces.

LTA will hence be distributing educational material to the public in the later part of this year to encourage good EV-charging behaviour. LTA will also study suggestions such as allowing EV drivers to reserve charging spaces in advance.

On top of these changes, Dr Khor said LTA is reviewing suggestions for a separate certificate of entitlement (COE) category for PHCs.

This separate COE category will be address in the next phase of its review, which is set to be completed by the second half of this year.

Other than all these changes to taxis and PHCs, there will also be changes to MRT systems, including the opening of new Thomson East-Coast Line stations as part of TEL Stage 4 – which you can use for free on 21 June 2024.

Not only that, but our roads will see changes as well. From the building of more Friendly Streets to the repurposing of two streets, our roads are about to get better, safer, and more convenient to use.

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Kimi Tan