It may have had only 23 members when it was first registered with NTUC in May 2016, but the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) today boasts a membership of 3,240. The figure surpassed the association’s initial target of 2,000 members.
NPHVA Executive Secretary Mohamad Randy announced the milestone figure at the association’s inaugural branch general meeting on 19 September 2017 at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability.
“We are very fortunate to have drivers who stuck with us to convince fellow drivers to join the association and spread the message of how we could help better their lives.
“After some initial increase in membership numbers, it started to stagnate. It was when we signed a partnership with Grab that we found a new avenue for membership growth,” said Mr Randy.
The association plans to reach a membership of 5,000 by the end of the year.
Importance of Visibility
NPHVA has also “parked” itself at the premises of the Singapore Taxi Academy and the Land Transport Authority to raise awareness among private vehicle drivers on the work it does.
“When drivers pick up their PDVL [Private Driver Vehicle Licence], we take the opportunity to engage them and inform them about us. We will look at how we can continue to make sure we become more visible,” added Mr Randy.
He also urged the members present at the event to continue to inform their fellow drivers about NPHVA.
Setting Up of Branches
Today, NPHVA has three branches representing limousine, combi-bus and app drivers. All the branches saw individuals step forward to join their respective branch committees at the general meeting – two each from the limousine and combi-bus branches, and nine from the app drivers branch.
Eight individuals will be elected from these representatives to take over the association’s pro tem executive committee when NPHVA holds its inaugural Convention of Delegates on 4 October 2017.
