Stiffer penalties for taxi fare cheats, drivers who leave engines idling

SINGAPORE — Taxi fare cheats will face tougher penalties, after a tripling of such cases between 2013 and 2015.

From May 9, composition fines for passengers who dodge payment will be doubled to S$200 for first offenders, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced on Friday (April 29). The owed fare must also be paid or the offender will be prosecuted in court.

Currently, a first-time offender is given the chance to make restitution payment on the fare and be let off with a warning from the Land Transport Authority or PTC. If he does not pay, he will have to compound the offence for S$100. 

Second-timers are already not given the concession to just pay the fare. Under the enhanced rules, their composition fine will, similarly, be doubled to S$400. They must also make good on the owed fare or face prosecution.

Those who evade fares for the third time onwards will be charged in court.

PTC chief executive Alvin Chia said in a press statement that there were 240 cases of fare evasion last year, which is triple the number in 2013, and a 90 per cent increase from the 125 cases in 2014. 

He added: “Fare evasion affects the livelihood of taxi drivers and the stiffer penalties will help to better deter such offences. We will continue to work closely with taxi companies to curb taxi fare evasion.”

In a separate announcement on Friday, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said that from June 1, motorists who leave their engines idling when they are not in traffic will face stiffer fines after they are caught for the second time onwards.

The composition fine for such repeat offenders will be increased from S$70 to S$100 in a bid to improve Singapore’s ambient air quality, on the back of rising violations.
 
Under the Environmental Protection and Management (Vehicular Emissions) Regulations, it is an offence to leave the engine of a motor vehicle running when it is stationary for reasons other than traffic conditions. 

Those who do not compound their offence may be fined up to S$5,000 by the courts. 

Between 2013 and 2015, the number of motorists caught flouting this rule rose from 3,200 to 5,100. For the first three months this year, the NEA has taken action against nearly 1,500 motorists for such offences.

Those exempted from the rule include taxis and buses at queues at designated stops, stands or terminals waiting for passengers, and vehicles that require their engines to be switched on for the operation of on-board machinery, such as chiller trucks and concrete mixers.