SINGAPORE — In line with Phase Two of Singapore’s exit from the circuit breaker measures, those with vehicles will be able to give their relatives, friends or colleagues a lift from Friday (June 19) onwards.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary said that privately arranged private-hire car services, limousine services and paid car-pool services “made through booking platforms” will also be able to resume.

He added that important information that is used for contact tracing will be recorded at the point of the booking.

However, Dr Janil said that paid car-pool services that are arranged through informal platforms such as chat groups “are not ok and cannot resume” because there are no means to record the trip as well as passenger details for contact tracing.

Dr Janil stressed that public health must be protected.

“Small steps at each phase of reopening, and we will keep going safely,” he said.

Earlier in April, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that enforcement action will be taken against drivers who continue to carpool during the Covid-19 outbreak as it is considered an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations. 

The Ministry of Trade and Industry had previously deemed carpooling services as “non-essential services” during the initial 28-day circuit breaker period in April.

Ride-hailing platforms Grab and Ryde had previously also suspended their GrabHitch and RydePool carpooling services, respectively.