Major players like Go-Jek will have to apply for the ride-hail licence. (Photo: asia.nikkei.com)Singapore (VNA) – All ride-hail and street-hail service providerswith a fleet size of more than 800 vehicles in Singapore will have to belicensed from June 2020, after the Parliament passed the Point-to-Point (P2P)Passenger Transport Industry Bill on August 6.
Licence applications for street-hail and ride-hailservice operators, including carpool operators, will open next February. Majorplayers such as Grab and Go-Jek will have to apply for the ride-hail licence,while existing taxi operators will be deemed to have a street-hail licence.Meanwhile, ride-hail service operators with fewer than 800 vehicles willbe exempted.
Under the new rules, it will be an offence for any person to providestreet-hail or ride-hail services without a licence or an exemption. If convicted,these operators may face a fine of up to 10,000 SGD (7,241 USD) or imprisonmentof up to six months, or both. A further fine of up to 500 SGD may be imposed foreach day that the offence continues after conviction.
ThePublic Transport Council (PTC) will work to ensure taxi and private-hire carfares are clear and transparent. Licensed operators will be required to providethe flat fares (excluding electronic road pricing fee) for taxi andprivate-hire car bookings upfront to commuters, but they will be allowed to setthe flat fares independently.
Singapore now has about 20,000 taxis and 45,000 private-hire cars,with more than two-thirds of all point-to-point commutes made viaride-hailing apps and the rest being street-hails.
Taxis and private-hire cars made 276 million trips last year.-VNA
VNA
