National Taxi Association requests for tweaks to availability rules

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/niche-cabs-may-not-need-meet-ltas-standards

In July, the National Taxi Association (NTA) had lobbied for the availability standards imposed on operators to be tweaked.

The rules were introduced in January to improve the utilisation of taxis to better serve commuters, especially during peak periods.

In response, Land Transport Authority (LTA) Chief Executive Chew Hock Yong said in a letter to the union:

1) That waivers for other “premium” taxis could also be granted where there is merit as they do not “function in the same way as ‘normal’ taxis”. This is similar to SMRT’s London Cabs because its primary role was in taking telephone bookings from wheelchair users.

However, the LTA has to be “judicious” in granting such exemptions so that taxi companies cannot exploit any potential loophole.

2) The NTA had also proposed a monthly concession pass of between S$25 and S$30 for cabbies entering the CBD between noon and 8pm to encourage more drivers to pick up fare there. The LTA said it was looking into the feasibility of this suggestion.

3) On the union’s suggestion that laws be enacted for driver management matters, such as boosting the pool of active relief drivers by requiring new holders of the Taxi Driver’s Vocational Licence to start as one before becoming a taxi hirer, the LTA said this was already the market practice.

4) It added that its view is that the Government should not be “overly prescriptive” on taxi companies’ driver recruitment and management.

5) The LTA has also started a portal to facilitate matching hirers with relief drivers, which has seen nearly 5,000 logins, more than 1,800 posts, and 48 successful matches as of end October.