Additional $30 million financial support for taxi and private-hire car drivers to cope with Covid-19 restrictions
SINGAPORE - Taxi and private-hire car drivers will get additional financial support till end-September to help ease the impact of the latest set of tightened Covid-19 restrictions. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (July 23) that drivers will get an additional $10 per vehicle per day from July 22 to Aug 31. This will then be reduced to $5 per day in September. The Government is funding these measures by providing an additional $30 million to enhance the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund. Drivers will receive the payouts through the taxi and private-hire car companies, and there is no need to make an application. The latest round of support measures doubles the payouts that drivers are currently receiving. Under an earlier round of measures in June, drivers were to get $10 per vehicle per day for 60 days from this month and $5 per vehicle per day in September. LTA said a total of $482 million had been set aside to support the taxi and private-hire car sectors since February last year. Explaining the additional support, it said taxi and private-hire car ridership is expected to decline significantly with Singapore entering the phase two (heightened alert) period from July 2...
Taxis, private-hire cars can take more than two passengers only if from same household, starting May 16
SINGAPORE - Commercial car-pooling services will cease, and taxis and private-hire cars can take more than two passengers only if they are all from the same household. These are some of the measures that have been implemented for this period of heightened alert from Sunday (May 16) to June 13, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA). In a statement, the agency said these measures are "to minimise the interaction and the risk of Covid-19 transmission across different households when commuting". The updated Covid-19 restrictions on group sizes that will apply to taxis and private-hire cars mean that passengers from different households have to keep to the two-passenger limit. However, more than two passengers can travel together in a taxi or private-hire car if they all live in the same household. For instance, a parent can travel with his or her two children if they live together. Reminding drivers and passengers to wear their masks at all times, the LTA said: "Taxi and private-hire drivers should decline to fetch passengers who do not wear masks." During the heightened alert period, the agency will also disallow all forms of commercial car-pooling services such as GrabHitch and Ryd...
Covid-19 vaccination drive kicks off for over 50,000 eligible cabbies, private-hire drivers
SINGAPORE - More than 50,000 active taxi and private-hire car drivers will be offered the chance to get their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the week, as the effort to vaccinate front-line land transport workers kicked into higher gear. About 300 drivers got their first jabs at the vaccination centre in the former Hong Kah Secondary School on Tuesday (Feb 23), the first day of the vaccination exercise for the point-to-point sector. Eligible cabbies and private-hire drivers will progressively receive SMSes with a unique link for them to book their vaccination appointments online at a time and place that is most convenient for them. These drivers can get their jabs at any of the 14 vaccination centres, 20 polyclinics, or 22 Public Health Preparedness Clinics currently operating as vaccination sites across the island. The latest vaccination drive follows exercises last month to vaccinate aviation, maritime and public transport workers last month. It is a joint effort by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), supported by the National Taxi Association (NTA), the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), and the taxi and private-...
Cab, private-hire drivers to get higher payouts from next year under new scheme
SINGAPORE - Drivers of taxis and private-hire cars will get a higher amount of sector-specific payouts from next year, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (Dec 16). This is meant to help cushion the impact of a relief scheme for self-employed workers coming to an end. Eligible drivers in the point-to-point (P2P) transport sector will get $600 per vehicle each every month between January and March 2021, up from $300, announced LTA. This will be reduced to $450 a month between April and June. LTA said this new scheme, called the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund, will cost $133 million. It replaces the Special Relief Fund, through which P2P drivers have been receiving payouts since February. The total assistance given to the sector now stands at about $380 million. P2P drivers who receive the payouts under the new fund will not be eligible for the Covid-19 Recovery Grant announced by the Ministry of Social and Family Development. About 52,00 drivers - main taxi hirers and full-time drivers of private-hire cars - eligible for the Special Relief Fund will be automatically transitioned to the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund from next month. LTA said the increase in the sector-spe...
S’pore cabbies, private-hire drivers find the going tough even with easing of Covid-19 restrictions
SINGAPORE - Five months after Singapore moved into phase two of reopening its economy in June, taxi and private-hire drivers continue to spend more time roaming the streets without passengers, with some earning just enough to cover costs. Demand for rides remains more lacklustre than last year due to the lack of tourists, shut entertainment venues like nightclubs, the ban on the sale of alcohol after 10.30pm, and many still working from home. There are also fewer instances of surge pricing for private-hire drivers, meaning they have to make more trips to match their pre-Covid-19 earnings. In response to queries from The Sunday Times, the Land Transport Authority said ridership in the first week of this month was at 75 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels. This figure is on the higher end of estimates by drivers and taxi companies, who said ridership is slightly above 66 per cent of pre-outbreak levels. Taxi driver Shaik Ismail, 39, said he used to make 13 to 14 trips daily in the past two years, when he drove from 7am to 3pm. Now, he struggles to get 10 trips despite driving an extra two hours, stretching his work day to 5pm. He earns $120 a day now, down from $200 last year. Taxi queue...