More help needed for taxi drivers to meet availability standards: National Taxi Association

SINGAPORE — More can be done to help taxi operators meet the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) taxi-availability standards, especially in increasing the pool of active relief drivers, said the National Taxi Association (NTA) in response to latest adjustments made to the standards announced today (Nov 26).

About 10,000 taxi drivers here – or 34 per cent – remain as one-man operators who still fail to meet the LTA’s requirements despite driving long hours.

They face difficulties finding relief drivers due to competition from taxi companies looking for hirers – as opposed to relief drivers – to take over unhired taxis, and a decline in taxi driver vocational license (TDVL) holders, said the NTA.

The association added that more than half of the existing TDVL holders - 99,392 as of August this year - are currently inactive. “Reaching out to them to join the pool of taxi drivers will go a long way in helping with taxi availability,” said Mr Ang Hin Kee, NTA executive adviser.

The NTA also called for the taxi availability computation to be reviewed to exclude “un-hired taxis” that are not served by operators, those in workshops for repairs, and premium taxi services like Mercedes and Maxi-Cab, which usually depend on regulars customers and may thus clock shorter mileage.

The NTA also urged the LTA to consider a more holistic approach in considering taxi utilisation, such as third-party applications.

The increase in utilisation rate from 65 per cent in 2012 to 68 per cent in the first nine months of this year should also be attributed to the accessibility of such apps, said the NTA.

“To better match taxi supply to demand, it is important that the TA standards form part of a holistic approach. NTA strongly urges the LTA to look into other initiatives and approaches be it new technologies (or) new incentive schemes which are in line with the new taxi industry landscape to better meet commuters’ needs,” Mr Ang said.