The National Taxi Association (NTA) launched the first of a series of campaigns to promote awareness among taxi drivers and commuters on road safety practices pertaining to taxi pick-up and drop-off. This follows the recent implementation of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to minimise illegal parking and road obstructions.
NTA plans to distribute some 10,000 packets of tissue paper printed with instructions on how to safely hail a cab or drop-off from a cab, to both commuters and the taxi community. For a start, taxi leaders led by NTA Executive Advisor Ang Hin Kee will be giving out the collaterals to members of the public at Rochor Road (in front of Fu Lu Shou Complex), one of the identified locations installed with CCTV cameras.
Public Education on Parking Surveillance Cameras
While the CCTVs cameras serve to stem illegal parking and improve traffic conditions, since it was installed, there was a significant rise in the number of summons issued by LTA to NTA members who pick-up or drop-off their passengers at these locations. Anecdotally, the number of summons received by NTA members shot up to more than 280 from June 2014 to March this year. Previously, the number of summons issued to taxi drivers at these areas was negligible during the same period.
This spike was especially evident in the mature estates, where many amenities and facilities such as polyclinics, markets and shops are often located near areas where the cameras are installed. Taxi drivers or commuters continue to pick-up (hail a cab) or drop-off (alight) along these areas out of habit or convenience. When this gets captured by the cameras, taxi drivers receive summons of up to $130 and three demerit points. This could lead to the suspension of taxi drivers’ licenses, which will affect the income and livelihood of taxi drivers.
Mr Ang Hin Kee said, “CCTV cameras are meant to nail “illegal parking”. However, based on feedback from many taxi drivers, they get caught for waiting at areas with cameras to pick up call-booking customers, or for passengers who take a longer time if they choose a cashless mode of payment, or if passengers insist to drop-off at no-stopping zones due to long queues at taxi stands. I think it is important that both taxi drivers and commuters are aware of such implications, so that neither taxi drivers nor commuters are affected by the new implementation.”
“Many of us try our best to pick-up or drop-off our passengers at locations that are of convenience to passengers. But when we are not able to, not all commuters understand the reasons. While we try to explain to them why we cannot pick-up or drop-off passengers at various locations, such as CCTV camera-controlled areas, it will definitely be very helpful if more people are aware of these regulations. This way, commuters understand the road safety regulations, and we are happy to provide a good service,” said Mr Colin Neo, taxi driver with SMRT.
What’s Next
Going forward, NTA plans to step up its efforts by distributing the collaterals to other selected areas with CCTV cameras, through taxi leaders and other taxi drivers.
At the same time, NTA urges its partners and relevant stakeholders like LTA and the taxi operators to support this initiative with collective efforts to raise awareness among all road users so that everyone, including the taxi drivers and commuters, can travel safely and comfortably on taxis.
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