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More taxis meeting benchmarks under Taxi Availability framework

SINGAPORE – More taxis are plying the roads, and more commuters are able to get a taxi, following the introduction of the Taxi Availability standards in January last year, according to figures released by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) today (Nov 26).

SINGAPORE – More taxis are plying the roads, and more commuters are able to get a taxi, following the introduction of the Taxi Availability standards in January last year, according to figures released by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) today (Nov 26).

The percentage of taxis on the roads during peak hours increased from 82 per cent in 2012 to 87 per cent in the first nine months of this year, translating to some 1,400 more cabs being available to commuters during this period.

The total taxi fleet plying at least 250km daily has also risen, from 75 per cent in 2012 to 79 per cent, while daily taxi utilisation rate–or the proportion of total taxi mileage under hire–has increased from 65 per cent last year to 68 per cent in the first nine months of this year.

But more still needs to be done, said LTA, and there is more scope to push standards higher.

Only Comfort and CityCab is able to achieve having at least 80 per cent of their fleet meeting the minimum daily mileage standard. The other companies are still not able to do so, and only SMRT, Trans-Cab and Premier are able to meet the first year standard of 70 per cent.

As for meeting peak period standards, only Comfort, CityCab and Premier are able to achieve the second year standard of having 80 per cent of their fleet on the roads in the first nine months of the year. SMRT met the standards from May, and TransCab was also able to meet the standards except for certain timeslots.

Prime on the other hand, did not meet any of the standards this year, possibly due to their model of operations which is made up of mainly one-shift drivers. The company is the only one who has been fined so far–to a tune of S$140,000–for not meeting even the first year standards for two consecutive months for the same indicator during the first nine months of the year.

LTA says the proportion of two-shift taxis have also increased from 53 per cent in 2012 to 66 per cent in the first nine months of this year. This is a good sign as it shows taxis are more efficiently used and more cabs are available for hire for a longer period, they added.

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