The Government will set aside an additional $112 million to extend the Point-to-Point Support Package (PPSP) to provide further support for the point-to-point transport sector.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) made this announcement at a briefing session to taxi and private-hire car drivers on 9 September 2020.
Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor said: “This package of relief measures will further help to support our drivers and operators through this difficult period and mitigate some of their concerns and challenges.”
The PPSP was first introduced in February this year, followed by a second tranche in March 2020, with both packages totalling $197 million.
The initiative was a result of extensive consultations between LTA, drivers, operators, the National Taxi Association (NTA) and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA).
NTUC Director and Labour MP Yeo Wan Ling shared: “Some of our drivers are sole breadwinners, supporting their family and children and have been greatly impacted by the circuit breaker measures and border closures. They are not able to earn what they did previously. We are grateful our tripartite partners have listened closely to the concerns of our drivers and extended the PPSP.”
The bulk of the additional support, $106 million, will be channelled to a six-month extension of the Special Relief Fund (SRF).
Slated to end this September, the SRF will now continue until March 2021.
This fund provides payouts of $300 per vehicle per month to active taxi and private-hire car drivers to help defray business costs. Over 40,000 point-to-point drivers are expected to qualify for the extended SRF.
Taxi operators have also pledged to continue providing matching rental rebates worth an additional $29 million to their hirers.
To further supplement drivers’ incomes, the temporary liberalisation of point-to-point regulations that allow the use of taxis and private-hire cars for delivery services will be extended another year until September 2021.
LTA also announced that the eligibility criteria for Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence (PDVL) will align with the Taxi Driver’s Vocational Licence (TDVL).
Under new rules, all PDVL applicants must be Singapore citizens and at least 30 years old. They must also have a minimum of one year of driving experience.
The higher minimum age requirement is something that NTA and NPHVA had called for in the past.
“We are grateful that our requests have been heard and responded to positively. Raising the age requirement will not only level the playing field for taxi drivers who have to adhere to a minimum age of 30 years old but will also encourage young drivers to gain outside work experience which will enlarge their skill sets and provide them with long term job prospects,” said NTA and NPHVA in a media statement.
Existing PDVL holders younger than 30 years old or are Singapore PRs will not be affected under this new rule.
To acknowledge operators’ efforts in supporting their drivers through the current crisis, the Government is providing additional relief measures to defray some costs.
The Special Relief for Unhired Taxis will be extended for another six months.
Announced in March 2020, this special relief of $2,200 per unhired taxi was meant to help taxi operators cover the cost of their unhired fleet.
It will now continue until March 2021, at an estimated cost of $4.6 million.
LTA will also extend the previously announced nine-month operator licence fee waiver by a further three months, at the cost of about $1.2 million.
