Authorities to Review Business, Including Availability of Rides
We all have that friend who uses ride-hailing apps and services all the time.
I might be that friend.
And it’s not confirmation bias when we see more friends falling into that category because daily ridership for street-hail and ride-hail services has increased by 18.6% since 2020.
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Review of Businesses to be Completed by Second Quarter of 2024
The number of daily trips for both street-hails and ride-hails increased from 517,000 in November 2020 to 613,000 in July 2023.
Because of this, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced that it will be conducting a review of the point-to-point transport industry’s structure and regulatory framework.
This essentially means that LTA wants to ensure the services stay relevant to commuter needs as the industry evolves.
Talks have begun with taxi and ride-hailing operators, the National Taxi Association and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association.
The review will focus on three main areas:
- Improving the stability of the supply of such services, such as during late-night hours when there are shortages
- Ensuring that services can be provided with minimal disruptions and downtime
- Ensuring services cater to the needs of various commuter groups like wheelchair users and families with young children
Aside from ensuring the availability, resilience and inclusivity of P2P services, LTA has said discussions have also included adopting cleaner energy vehicles and encouraging gracious behaviour among drivers and commuters.
LTA will also reach out to different commuter groups to hear their views.
Existing Changes Have Already Been Made
In a Facebook post on 13 September 2023, Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor said while this broader review is ongoing, recent changes have also been made.
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In her talks with the associations and their operators, one such change has been to remove “the rule that drivers need to search their vehicles for items left behind after every trip from legislation”.
“This does not mean that lost and found will not be returned to their owners,” said Ms Khor.
It will just be put into the operators’ best practices guide instead.
Another item that will be added to said guide is encouraging drivers to ensure “their vehicles are kept clean, and passengers are not allowed to bring items likely to soil or damage the vehicle” or bother other commuters onboard.
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Having this review will definitely be a great way for LTA to re-evaluate Singapore’s commuter needs.
Maybe this will help my ride-sharing app’s surge prices from emptying my pockets? Who knows.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
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