SIGNIFICANT measures to improve the availability, reliability and inclusivity of taxis and private-hire car (PHC) services will commence from January 2025, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor on Wednesday (Dec 4) in a social media post.
The changes were announced in Parliament in March this year and include new guidelines for point-to-point (P2P) transport sector operators on managing disruptions, changes in vehicle lifespan and inspections frequency, and helping P2P commuters with specialised needs.
The P2P sector refers to taxis and PHCs. PHCs include those that are chauffeured (ride-hailed) and self-driven.
The changes are part of the first phase of the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) ongoing P2P sector review.
Announced in September 2023, the review was meant to end in the second quarter of 2024, but is still ongoing.
In her post, Dr Khor did not elaborate on the expected time for the completion of the review.
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New measures
From January 2025, P2P operators must meet new standards for managing operational disruptions. They must inform LTA, commuters and drivers within an hour of confirming any “systemic incident” that will impair P2P services, and submit an incident report that includes the steps taken to resolve it.
The operators are also required to develop and review contingency plans, with measures to ensure the timely recovery of service, and prevent the recurrence of such disruptions.
Operators that intend to exit the P2P market must provide LTA with an exit plan, and a minimum notice period of 120 days before surrendering their operator licence, up from 60 days previously.
They must also inform the public at least 60 days before surrendering their operator licence, to give drivers and commuters time to cash out their electronic wallets and transit to other platforms.
Also effective from January 2025 are changes in the regulations for taxis and PHCs.
The statutory lifespan of diesel, petrol and hybrid taxis has been extended to 10 years, up from eight years. Taxis less than three years old will need to be inspected once a year, compared with once every six months previously.
Chauffeured PHCs more than 10 years old will require inspection once every six months, instead of once a year previously.
Smaller taxi operators are no longer required to maintain call-booking services. Only ComfortDelGro, which fulfils most call-booked trips, will continue to offer the service.
From November 2024, the users of ride-hailing applications have been able to indicate their need for child seats or extra boot space for foldable wheelchairs when booking a ride.
The second phase of the P2P sector review will tackle issues such as whether operators with a larger market share should be subject to higher regulatory standards, and the possibility of a separate Certificate of Entitlement category for PHCs.
