by Wan Ting Koh
IN REACTION to the increasing popularity of third-party booking applications and their private-hire car drivers, the National Taxi Association (NTA) submitted a letter yesterday (Nov 16) with recommendations to the Ministry of Transport to aid them in their ongoing review of these services.
The NTA wants private-hire car drivers working with third-party booking apps, such as Uber and GrabCar, to be subject to the same certification and qualification requirements as cabbies, in the interest of cabbies currently working under Land Transport Authority (LTA)-approved operators like SMRT Taxis and Comfort Transportation.
Drafted after the NTA’s dialogue session with 300 cabbies, the letter was then handed to Senior Minister of State for Transport Ng Chee Meng, who was tasked last month to consult cabbies and the general public on the use of these third-party apps, and craft a fair solution for all stakeholders involved.
These are the eight recommendations that the NTA had in their letter and why they had them.
1. All drivers and service providers who provide point-to-point transfer services serving the same consumer market should be similarly qualified and certified.
Why: Before cabbies start working, they have to apply for a taxi driver’s vocational licence at the LTA Vehicle Transit Licensing Office, undergo medical check-ups and then go for a 95-hour taxi driver’s vocational licence training course at the Singapore Taxi Academy. This should apply to private hires to ensure drivers are physically fit and qualified to fetch passengers. Private-hire drivers should be subjected to the same regulations to ensure the safety of passengers.
2. Private-hire vehicles and drivers serving the same consumer market should adopt similar identification protocols for consumers’ safety and security.
Why: This is rather self-explanatory. It’s so that you, the passenger, won’t get into a random stranger’s car that claims to be a taxi but is actually not. Identification in private-hire vehicles will assure passengers that they’re not entering the car of a psycho-killer.
3. Clear accountability needed with regard to unfortunate incidents, disputes and claims.
Why: Right now, passengers involved in disputes with cabbies under operators like SMRT and Trans-Cab services can approach the LTA or taxi operators for recourse. For private hires however, there is no clear authority that passengers or cabbies can turn to and so disputes might go unresolved.
4. Review of standards and cost structures for taxis should level competition between taxis and private hires.
Why: This is to ensure that the compliance costs (which include fees for mandatory maintenance) for cabbies are kept at a minimum so that they are not at an unfair advantage when competing with private-hire drivers who may face a different set of costs.
5. Charges and fees of point-to-point transfers which serve the same consumer market should be reviewed.
Why: Currently, this is to protect passenger interests by preventing cabbies from overcharging. Peak hour rates and fares calculated based on distance are standardised so that passengers know what they are paying for. Private-hire drivers are able to charge a fee based on demand and supply, which may put cabbies at a disadvantage as their fixed fare rates may turn out to be more expensive.
6. The LTA should recognise and embrace the effectiveness of new tools like third-party booking apps to determine service and availability standards, without the need for statutory requirements that have become prescriptive, distorting and costly.
Why: In addition to new tools that will make cabbies more effective, cabbies should not be restricted to statutory requirements that might unnecessarily increase their daily cost of operation. This is so that they can offer fares that are more competitive to private-hire drivers who do not face the same restrictions.
7. The LTA should be consistent in regulating and monitoring any point-to-point transfer service providers, such as private-hire vehicle services and drivers serving the same consumer market.
Why: This is to ensure that cabbies and private-hire drivers do not congregate or cluster at any one point while leaving other parts of Singapore bereft of cabs. This is also to ensure that there are enough taxis on the road at any one point in time, especially during peak hours.
8. The Government and taxi operators must take bold steps in leveraging new technologies and practices to improve the ride experience of their passengers and efficiency in matching taxi drivers.
Why: Cabbies need new technologies to make sure that they remain efficient and competitive in the long run, especially with the emergence of attractive private-hire driver services which have a distinct advantage due to the technologies they employ which match them to the the nearest passenger. Cabbies may be faster and more efficient if they have the same location service available to them.
Featured image Saturday Taxi by Flickr user Kevin Utting, CC BY 2.0.
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