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Tag: taxi drivers

  • LTA: Cabbies, Private-Hire Drivers Cannot Do Courier Jobs

    LTA: Cabbies, Private-Hire Drivers Cannot Do Courier Jobs

    Taxi drivers and private-hire drivers are not allowed to be couriers or deliverymen for goods if there is no passenger on board, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday.

    In response to queries from The Straits Times, an LTA spokesman said: “Under our regulations, taxis and private-hire cars are meant to carry passengers for hire and reward, and cannot be used solely for the conveyance of goods.

    “However, passengers who hire a taxi or a private-hire car are allowed to carry goods with them.”

    LTA was unable to comment immediately on the penalties for infringement, or if anyone has been taken to task yet.

    ComfortDelGro, the biggest taxi company here, confirmed its drivers have taken jobs from delivery companies such as Amazon Prime, but maintained that the goods are always accompanied by a passenger.

    Drivers, however, said this was not always the case.

    Cabby Henry Tay, 48, said: “Previously, there was a fear that what we delivered would be contraband or drugs. But now, with an established company like Amazon, we feel it is quite safe.

    “The taxi business is getting slow, so cabbies need to do something to supplement their earnings.”

    Private-hire driver Tan Ee Hsing, 41, said he has not done any deliveries himself, but has helped direct some 200 drivers to Adecco, Amazon’s hiring agent here.

    “The rates these delivery companies pay are generally higher than what drivers make from passenger fares,” he said.

    Premier Taxi managing director Lim Chong Boo said: “We remind our drivers that they are not allowed to perform courier services without anyone on board.”

    However, he said it was “very difficult” for the authorities to enforce regulations, given that there are about 26,000 taxis and more than 40,000 chauffeured private- hire cars here.

    Prime Taxi chairman Neo Nam Heng said the courier business helps drivers optimise capacity during the off-peak hours between 10am and 4pm.

    “I have encouraged all the drivers of my fleet of 1,500 taxis to take up such bookings,” he said.

    Housewife C.N. Yeo, 51, said she has had purchases delivered to her home by a Comfort taxi driver.

    Amazon could not respond by press time yesterday.

    Lazada, which also owns online grocer RedMart, said it does not use taxis or private-hire cars for deliveries.

     

    Source: http://www.straitstimes.com

  • LTA Investigating Deaths From Sudden Acceleration Of Hyundai Cabs

    LTA Investigating Deaths From Sudden Acceleration Of Hyundai Cabs

    Madam Poh Ah Gin, 78, was killed by a reversing Comfort taxi. The woman, who had been collecting cardboard to recycle, was hit twice.

    Reports noted that the Hyundai Sonata was reversing into a parking lot when the vehicle suddenly rolled backwards, mounted the kerb and hit Madam Poh.

    Mr Lim Kah Kong, 35, a tow truck driver, told The Straits Times Online that he shouted at the taxi driver to stop when he saw that Madam Poh had been hit.

    “But his car continued to lunge back and forth, and he hit her again,” he said.

    The cabby’s son, known only as Sam, said his father was an experienced driver with no past traffic offences.

    “He repeatedly told me that there was something wrong with the cab,” he said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

    MARCH 17, 2016

    A Comfort cab caused a chain collision at Block 702, Bedok Reservoir Road.

    The cab was trying to reverse into a parking lot when it surged forward instead, hitting a red car.

    The impact caused the red car to scrape the side of a blue lorry beside it, before mounting a kerb and hitting the front of a white lorry on the other side of the car park.

    The taxi reversed into the void deck of Block 702, nearly colliding with three teenagers who were there.

    Except for the taxi, the three other vehicles were parked.

    Madam Sandy Goh, 48, a volunteer at the neighbourhood’s Senior Care Corner, rushed to the scene after receiving a flurry of calls from senior citizens about the accident.

    She said the taxi driver seemed to have escaped injury.

    “He looked quite confused. I heard the police officer asking him what had happened, but he said he didn’t know,” she said.

    DEC 25, 2009

    In 2011, a cabby was fined $800 for hitting four pedestrians and crashing into a 7-Eleven store.

    The cabby was in the taxi queue at the Tiong Bahru Plaza when his Hyundai Sonata suddenly surged forward.

    He ran into a man and three women, before crashing into the entrance of the 7-Eleven store.

    His defence counsel said it was his client’s first time driving the Hyundai cab. He was not used to the sudden burst of speed when the accelerator was pressed suddenly.

    The court heard that as the cabby was moving forward in the taxi queue, some pedestrians stepped off the kerb. They seemed to be in the path of his taxi.

    Instead of hitting the brakes, his foot slipped and he stepped on the accelerator.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Taken For A Ride But Taxi Passenger Reacts In Cool, Gracious Manner

    Taken For A Ride But Taxi Passenger Reacts In Cool, Gracious Manner

    A video of a male passenger chastising a taxi driver in a non-confrontational manner for allegedly taking a longer route to earn a bigger fare, has gone viral.

    In the 1  1/2-minute video clip, which was posted by Mr Syed Hyder on his Facebook page on Sunday (Sept 27) afternoon, Mr Hyder is seen filming himself while speaking to the driver.

    It has since chalked up more than 70,000 views and over 1,800 shares.

    The video starts with Mr Hyder calling out the unidentified male driver on taking an unusual route. He had told the driver to take the “fastest way possible” to Bugis but was puzzled over why he had chosen a longer route through the Marina Coastal Expressway instead of the straightforward one via Hill Street.

    The driver can be heard replying “this one is more smooth”. Mr Hyder then urged the driver to be honest and to not do it again, even though he was willing to pay the full fare (which amounted to about $14).

    The 30-year-old, who declined to give his occupation, told The Straits Times that he boarded the taxi near Singapore General Hospital in Outram at around 1pm on Sunday.

    “I was actually quite angry that I was being taken for a ride, but instead of letting it ruin my day I decided to film a video – just for laughs – to show my friends as I was sure they had come across similar situations before,” he said.

    “Honestly, I was shocked that so many people ended up watching the video.”

    The clip was also shared on the Facebook page of citizen news site All Singapore Stuff, which praised Mr Hyder for teaching the driver a lesson in a “gracious and gentlemanly manner”.

    But it also attracted several negative comments from netizens, who criticised Mr Hyder for being an “attention seeker”.

    He clarified that he did not have any ill intentions, and said he chose not to disclose the driver’s name or the taxi company as he did not want to get anyone into trouble.

    He also revealed in a follow-up comment to his original Facebook post that the taxi driver apologised to him when he alighted at his destination.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • SDA Establishes Alternative Association For Taxi Drivers

    SDA Establishes Alternative Association For Taxi Drivers

    Members of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) have registered a new Singapore Cabbies Association (SCA), aimed at protecting the rights and welfare of taxi drivers here.

    The SCA will serve as an “alternative” to the National Taxi Association (NTA), said founding adviser and SDA chairman Desmond Lim, by fighting for stronger regulation of third-party applications such as Uber, enhancing training for taxi drivers and public education.

    For example, it wants the authorities to push for Uber drivers to undergo formal training and comply with the same regulations as taxi drivers, and ensure Uber drivers have up-to-date Medisave contributions to renew their vocational licences.

    Added founding president and SCA assistant treasurer William Lim: “The NTA is only one single association. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and taxi companies are not taking into consideration their suggestions enough.”

    Mr William Lim, a full-time taxi driver, said the SCA also intends to engage veteran taxi drivers and traffic police officers to provider training for new cabbies. The current training that taxi operators provide is very basic, he said.

    The 200-member-strong association also plans to offer legal advice and financial education for cabbies, and educate the public on, for instance, the safe spots to flag cabs.

    The SCA’s annual membership is open to taxi drivers who hold valid taxi driver vocational licences and costs S$60. Mr Desmond Lim submitted the application to the Registry of Societies yesterday.

    When contacted, NTA executive adviser Ang Hin Kee told TODAY many agencies and authorities, including the LTA, Traffic Police and Central Provident Fund Board, work with the NTA because of its existing vast network and membership. “Importantly, there is an ongoing, continual effort on our part to reach out, so it is not a once-off event,” said Mr Ang, who is a Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC.

    While Mr Ang did not directly comment on the SCA, he questioned: “What do you bring new to the scene? … I still feel it is may be more effective (if) we can channel our resources through existing networks so that (NTA) can benefit the drivers.”

    Mr Ang added that the NTA is looking to leverage technology and work with companies managing third-party booking apps to facilitate better matching of cabbies and commuters.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Tan Chuan-Jin: Single-shift Drivers Can Earn More Than $3,000 A Month

    Tan Chuan-Jin: Single-shift Drivers Can Earn More Than $3,000 A Month

    Responding to a parliamentary question about the salaries of taxi drivers, Manpower minister Tan Chuan-Jin said that a driver in 2014 earned an average of $3,173 for single-shift drivers while those working double-shifts could earn an average $5,933 a month.

    He explained that about 98,000 Singaporeans held a current Vocational License in December 2014 and about 56,000 were presently registered with taxi companies.

    In terms of the demographics of taxi drivers, over 80% of them were aged over 50 years old. In terms of their educational qualifications, 90% of drivers possessed at least a secondary school education.

    MP Irene Ng had asked specifically about how many were former PMETs but Mr Tan said that they do not have such data.

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com