Licensing Regime and Road Traffic Regulations for Autonomous Vehicles Operating as Ride-hailing Vehicles from 2028

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Transport (a) what will be the licensing regime and road traffic regulations that will apply to autonomous vehicles that operate as ride-hailing vehicles from 2028; (b) how will such regulations differ from what currently applies to human-driven private hire vehicles; and (c) whether the Ministry will be revising the relevant road transport legislation ahead of the fully driverless ride-hailing service.

Mr Jeffrey Siow: The deployment of autonomous vehicles (AV) on roads today are regulated under the sandbox set out in Road Traffic (Autonomous Motor Vehicles) Rules 2017. Applicants who wish to provide revenue passenger services will need to obtain the Land Transport Authority's approval after their proposed deployments have undergone safety and operational assessments.

We are currently developing a more holistic AV legislative framework, which will outline the applicable licensing regime and safety regulations for AVs. We will take reference from existing laws, such as the Road Traffic Act, and also similar acts in other jurisdictions, like the United Kingdom. We will table the Bill and consequential amendments to other legislations likely in second half of 2027.