As part of the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s announcement on the Taxi Availability (TA) Standards today, LTA updated that various measures have been put in place to help taxi drivers meet the TA requirements and commuters’ demands. While LTA has taken in several suggestions proposed by the National Taxi Association (NTA) earlier, like the relaxing of Central Business District (CBD) taxi rule and the mediation scheme, NTA reiterates the need for a more holistic approach so that commuters are able to have access to taxis more effectively and efficiently.
NTA also calls for support from the taxi operators, to assist those taxi drivers who are not able to meet the TA requirements and not pass down any financial penalties incurred to the drivers. NTA is thus heartened by the Ministry of Transport’s appeal for taxi operators to proactively support and help taxi drivers meet commuters’ demands instead of passing down any financial penalties they incur to the taxi drivers.
How to Better Meet Commuters’ Demand
Aside the various measures that have been put in place by LTA thus far, there are other crucial areas to look into to ensure commuters’ demands are met. This is especially so as members of the public continue to feedback that they still face challenges in hailing taxis at the CBD areas during the peak hours.
NTA regularly meets up with its taxi leaders and members to garner feedback and suggestions on how to better serve the commuters. From these sessions, NTA gathered three key suggestions that could help improve taxi availability for commuters.
Monthly Concession Pass for Taxi Drivers
Just over the weekend (24 – 25 Nov), NTA carried out a straw poll on more than 1,000 taxi drivers at its annual Membership Roadshow to find out the key factors that affect taxi availability during the peak periods at the CBD areas and things that can be done to improve and enhance the situation for commuters.
One key finding of the straw poll showed that 86% of those polled were willing to pay for a monthly concession pass of between $25 to 30 to enter the CBD area between 12.00 noon and 8.00pm.
Mr Low Yin Yiak, a taxi driver of 20 years who supported the proposal explained, “As a cabbie, we would gladly ply areas where taxis are required as every cent of income counts. While we want to reach commuters who are in the CBD area during peak hours, it could cost us as much as $5 ERP charges to enter on an empty cab. If there is a monthly pass, taxi drivers will definitely be able to enter the CBD areas more frequently to pick up more commuters.”
Review of Taxi Pick-up and Drop-off Points and Routes
Cabbies also reflected through the straw poll that the layout designs of some buildings in the CBD have caused great difficulties in picking-up or dropping-off of passengers. If taxi pick-up or drop-off points or routes can be improved, this would definitely enhance both commuters’ and drivers’ experience.
Another taxi driver, Mr Gerald Chan, who is also the President of the NTA said, “Very often, we see passengers stranded at certain locations when it’s raining but we could not pick them up as we were hindered by road conditions or building layout design conditions. For example, at Takashimaya Singapore, the narrow 2-way single carriage road leading into the taxi stand makes it difficult for drivers to get in and out even if it’s for a call booking. It’s worse when it’s raining and there’s congestion along the road. If conditions like these can be improved, I’m sure there will be happier passengers and happier taxi drivers.”
Maximise Utilisation of Taxi Vehicles
While LTA has set up an e-Service Portal to facilitate the matching of taxi hirers with potential relief drivers, more needs to be done to increase the pool of active relief drivers so that we can achieve better utilisation of existing taxi vehicles. NTA would like to persist in calling for the review of the system for new TDVL (Taxi Driver’s Vocational Licence) holders to start off as relief drivers to enlarge the pool of “active” relief drivers.
Finally, we hope that the various authorities and taxi operators will work together to ensure that our taxi drivers are provided with assistance to achieve the TA requirements and service demands. NTA will continue to do more, and stand ready to look into concerns that taxi drivers might face. We look forward to working closely with our partners to ensure a cordial and harmonious approach in resolving and creating a win-win situation for commuters, cabbies and the taxi industry as a whole.
Mr Ang Hin Kee
Executive Adviser
National Taxi Association
