SAFETY STANDARDS OF TAXIS

SAFETY STANDARDS OF TAXIS

2.

Assoc. Prof. Ong Soh Khim asked the Minister for Transport since it has been revealed that the four main taxi operators have failed their safety standards, (a) what are the root causes of these low safety standards; (b) is there an oversupply of taxis leading to a drop in the safety standards; (c) what are the measures to raise the safety standards of our taxi operators; and (d) will there be tougher control of taxis for parking haphazardly, misusing hazard lights, and making emergency stops to drop and pick up passengers.

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: The current accident rate standard is based on the number of accidents involving taxis that result in injury or fatality per 10 million km travelled. The traffic accident statistics over the past 5 years show that the accident rate deteriorated from 1.9 in both 1999

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and 2000 to 2.7 in 2002 and then 3.1 in 2003. With the enforcement of the accident rate performance standard under the Taxi Operator Licence regime in June 2003, the accident rate improved - going down to 2.6 in the year 2004. However, it is still not up to par with the accident rate standard of no more than 2 accidents per 10 million km travelled.

There are many possible reasons for the deterioration of the road safety performance of taxis from 2001 to 2004. The main cause of road accidents, according to the Traffic Police, is a disregard of road safety rules by one or both parties involved in the accident. There is no clear evidence that the increase in taxi supply has contributed to the corresponding fall in the road safety performance of taxis. For example, the accident rates in 2002 and 2003 were higher than in 2004 even though the taxi population was smaller in those years.

To improve taxi safety standards, a multi-pronged approach has been undertaken. Besides the penalty framework of the Taxi Operating Licence, in which taxi companies are fined for failure to meet safety standards, the taxi companies have implemented various initiatives to encourage safe driving. For example, most of the taxi companies provide incentives to taxi drivers with good driving records and penalise the unsafe drivers. SMRT Taxis has recently launched a safety campaign which encourages taxi drivers to inform the company of safe and unsafe driving habits of fellow colleagues.

LTA is also setting aside a seed fund of $100,000 for the Singapore Taxi Academy (STA) to set up a safety training course for taxi drivers who have poor safety records. The Academy will develop the training course with the Traffic Police, driving centres and taxi companies to raise the safety standards of the industry.

On whether there are adequate checks against errant taxi drivers, there are already stringent regulations and frameworks in force to govern the conduct of taxi drivers. Like all motorists, taxi drivers are required to abide by all traffic regulations.

In addition, taxi drivers are subject to fines and given demerit points if they breach the rules of conduct under the Vocational Licence Points System (VLPS) for taxi drivers. Under the VLPS, taxi drivers can be fined for offences such as dropping off a passenger at an unauthorised place. Customer complaints against taxi drivers are also investigated and relevant disciplinary action taken to ensure that taxi drivers maintain good and safe driving habits.

LTA will continue to monitor the accident rate situation closely with the Traffic Police and work with the taxi companies and the STA put in place measures that can help taxi drivers improve safety standards.

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