New Rules From LTA Might Mean Better & Safer Private-Hire Cars & Taxis

2019-01-25 , 4:53 pm

There’s going to be another big upheaval for the private-hire industry soon.

And by that, I mean, in particular for Grab.

Because LTA might make it illegal to force drivers to drive exclusively for them.

Drivers Are The Lifeblood of Private-Hire Services Company

Transport companies like Grab and Go-Jek are like outsourced job recruiters.

They have to handle both sides of the equation.

One, they have to ensure that the riders are happy with their service. And two, they have to keep drivers happy too to keep them from running away to another company.

Because if they don’t have enough drivers, they won’t have enough cars on the road to supply their riders.

And sooner or later, riders will migrate to another app because who wants to go to an app where there are no cars to pick them up anyway, right?

Which is why Grab has the advantage over companies who are moving in, hoping to take the place of Uber.

They have more drivers (supply) in place to cater to the demand of the people.

But that advantage might disappear soon.

LTA New Rules

On 24 Jan, Straits Times reported that LTA is looking to impose even tighter rules on the transport industry.

By introducing a new regulatory framework.

And It’s Not Just The Private-Hire Companies That’ll Be Affected

This time, LTA is looking to group both pre-booked chauffeured services, taxis and private-hire services together under the new regulatory framework.

According to the LTA, it does not make sense to have different rules for different segments of the group, considering that they all provide the same services to consumers.

The new proposed licensing framework, they said, will replace the current Taxi Service Operator Licence and Third Party Booking Registration Certificate”.

A Sneak Peek At What The New Framework Entails:

One of the factors they’re looking at is to improve the safety aspect of the industry. While not many details are known about it, they’re looking at making companies play a part in ensuring that the vehicles are properly maintained and insured.

The companies are also responsible for making the drivers drive safely.

No Driver Exclusivity Arrangements

The new regulatory framework will also give drivers the choice of driving for whomever they wish.

LTA will be able to stop all operators from having “driver exclusivity arrangements”.

That’s if the driver is classified as “self-employed”. If they’re an employee of the company and receiving a standard monthly salary, they won’t be able to get out of the exclusivity clause in their contracts.

Which is great news for drivers because they’ll now be able to get more jobs from different platforms.

Which means more income.

You Can Make Your Opinion Known

Can’t imagine how the future will look like?

Or feel like there’s a better solution to what’s going on right now?

You can now make your opinion heard.

The LTA is inviting anyone with suggestions or feedback about the changes, to leave them at their website or via email to [email protected] by 21 Feb 2019.