Established in 1999

Continued from FrontPage of Article

The details are summarised as follows:

The enhancements to the taxi driver disciplinary framework, otherwise known as the Vocational Licence Point System (VLPS), were made in consultation with taxi companies and taxi driver associations, who expressed support for the stringent measures against errant taxi drivers.

Mr Yang Ban Seng, Chief Executive Officer, Taxi Business, ComfortDelGro, whose companies operate more than 65% of the taxis in Singapore, said, "We are fully supportive of LTA's tougher penalties. This measure is timely and it will serve as a strong deterrent. It also supports the strict disciplinary actions that we have been taking against our errant drivers." Mr Lim Chong Boo, Managing Director of Premier Taxis Pte Ltd, said, "We support LTA's efforts to impose tougher penalties on recalcitrant drivers who blatantly flout the rules and affect the livelihood of our other colleagues". Mr Foo Chi Yong, Chairman of the Premier Taxi Operators' Association, added that "Our members had requested us to urge the LTA to help the taxi industry weed out these errant drivers that have damaged the reputations of all taxi drivers. We believe that these tougher penalties are necessary to restore the public's confidence in the taxi industry and have encouraged our members to report errant taxi drivers to LTA".

Mr Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive of LTA, said, "LTA worked closely with the taxi companies and taxi associations to introduce these stiffer measures. We strongly urge taxi commuters to play their part by reporting errant taxi drivers to LTA. In this way, there will be no opportunity for taxi drivers to tout. In the meantime, LTA will continue to liaise with the taxi companies to better match supply and demand of taxis at the 'hotspots'."

Taxi Advisories for the Public

To raise awareness among taxi commuters that touting for passengers is an offence, advisories will be prominently displayed at taxi stands and at other "hotspots" from 1 December 2007. LTA will also encourage all taxi companies to display the advisories inside their taxis. The advisories will carry LTA's hotline number (1800-CALL LTA or 1800-225 5582) to make it easy for passengers, tourists and the public to give feedback or report errant taxi drivers.

Welcoming these measures, Mr Chia Hock Peng, President of the SMRT Taxi Operators' Association said, "These are timely measures and we support them. We hope the small number of errant drivers will take these deterrents seriously and stop giving the industry a bad name."

More Taxi Stands / Stops within CBD
Street Hail of Taxis on Roads within CBD Disallowed from 1 March 2008

Currently, there are 80 taxi stands or stops in the CBD. To improve taxi services within the CBD, LTA will install an additional 15 taxi stands by end December 2007, so that there will be a taxi stand within 300 metres or a five-minute walk from buildings within the CBD.

The LTA, together with the taxi companies and taxi driver associations, will identify more locations for taxi stands, to make it easier for commuters to hail a taxi from a taxi stand and to increase commuters' safety. This also reduces the incidents of taxis infringing onto bus lanes to pick up passengers or indiscriminately stopping and contributing to traffic congestion.

With more taxi stands within the CBD, street hail of taxis on roads within the CBD will be disallowed from 1 March 2008. From that date, taxis can only pick up or alight passengers at taxi stands and along private driveways, even when on call booking. In preparation for this new measure, LTA will coordinate with the taxi companies and taxi driver associations to encourage drivers to pick up passengers from taxi stands.

Quality of Service (QoS) Standards for Taxis Enhanced

The Taxi Quality of Service (QoS) standards were introduced in 2003 to monitor the performance of taxi companies in three areas, namely "Availability of Taxis via Radiophone Booking", "Safety" and "Customer Satisfaction". The LTA has since January 2007 extended the monitoring of taxi companies' performance on radiophone booking service by another three hours, from 5 pm - 8 pm to 5 pm - 11 pm.

The standards were introduced progressively to allow the taxi companies sufficient time to meet the full standards after one year. For the first six months of 2007, the standard was set at 70% for the radiophone booking service under the QoS standards. It was raised to 80% from July - December 2007. From 1 January 2008, the full Taxi QoS standards will be applicable to the taxi companies.

Taxi Mystery Customer Audit

As part of its on-going efforts to improve taxi services, the LTA also introduced a mystery audit of taxi services. The mystery audit is carried out on taxi trips taken by auditors and its findings will complement the feedback received through commuter surveys. The audits are conducted on a quarterly basis and assess taxi drivers on service attributes, conduct, driving skills and familiarity with routes.

The audit started in October 2007 and the results will be out in January 2008. With the audit findings, LTA will require the taxi companies and associations to improve taxi service standards so that commuters can experience a pleasant journey.

Source: www.lta.gov.sg News Release 12 Nov 2007

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