NEW NTUC COMFORT TAXIS (Radio despatch system)

Encik Harun bin A. Ghani asked the Minister for Communications why the new NTUC Comfort taxis are not equipped with the radio despatch system.

The Minister for Communications (Mr Mah Bow Tan): Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry encourages all taxi companies to fully equip their fleet with radio despatch systems. This will enable the companies to utilise and deploy their taxi fleet more efficiently to meet commuter demand. It will also cut down the need for taxi drivers to drive around looking for passengers, thereby reducing unnecessary mileage and congestion on the road.

All taxi companies, including Comfort, are actively looking into upgrading or replacing their present system to a new Automated Taxi Despatch System using Global Positioning Satellites. I am told that Comfort's present despatch system is only able to serve about 3,000 taxis. Increasing the number of taxis on its present network will adversely affect the system's efficiency. When Comfort commissions its new Automated Despatch System, it will be able to equip its new taxis with the despatch system. It can also expand its despatch network to its entire fleet of 10,000 taxis.