Online influencer Khaw Boon Wan, who also happens to be the latest Transport Minister, took to his blog – the uber-punny Moving News – on Friday (October 2) to announce that his ministry will review the uberX service and "level the playing field".

UberX is a car service that allows drivers of private cars to pick up passengers through the Uber app. True to its 'Everyone is a driver' tagline, all it takes to be one is: to be the right side of 25 years of age, to have driving experience of at least a year, valid commercial insurance and a $2 shell company.

With its car rental service, you don't even need to own a car.

Taxi drivers, however, require a vocational licence to get started, which can be hard to attain with one 61-year-old taking as many as 80 tries to get it.

Khaw wrote:

"Apparently, uberX signs on drivers to drive private hire cars to provide a booking type of transport service, and these drivers do not need a vocational licence unlike taxi drivers. While taxi drivers welcome competition, they demand that the playing field be level. I think our taxi drivers have a point.

Ministry of Transport (MOT) will study this, and where justified, we shall level the playing field.  I have asked SMS Ng Chee Meng to take on this assignment, consult our taxi drivers and the general public, and forge a fair solution."

Since Ng's new to the job, we thought we might as well help him out by suggesting three ideas he could consider that can help level the playing field, while protecting passengers' interests:

1. Make UberX drivers take the vocational licence

While this could be the most obvious solution, it could also drive away part-time UberX drivers (as well as those aged below 30, the minimum age of taxi drivers), decreasing the supply as a result. The main draw of UberX for drivers is the ease of being a driver without going through all the trouble – mainly the vocational licence.

It's also worth noting that entrepreneurs and small business owners, whose work involves lots of driving around to meet customers or clients, really benefit from UberX because the savvier ones also subtly promote their businesses to their passengers. Double whammy! Don't you want to promote creativity like this, Singapore?

To get the licence, you have to go for a part-time or full-time course, which cost S$355 plus GST, at the Singapore Taxi Academy.

The biggest turn off is 60 hours of classroom training plus the practical lessons hours. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) states on their website that it takes some 95 hours to complete the full course.

2. Lower taxi rental rates

Currently, taxi rates start from around $70 a day (rates vary between company and vehicle types). In comparison, uberX's rates are well below its taxi counterparts.

Doing this will help taxi drivers too, because they'll be able to earn more from their daily rides. The only folks who stand to lose from this measure are the taxi companies — but well, hey, share some of your profits with your drivers, will ya?

3. Make the entry requirements similar

The general entry requirements for both are also imbalanced.

To able to drive a taxi:

-You must be at least 30 years old

-You need a GCE O Level or N Level pass in English (at least an D7 grade) / Level 3 or higher pass in Singapore Taxi Academy's English course

-You must have at least a one year driving experience with a clean driving record

-You must be a Singapore citizen

-You must pass a medical exam

-You must pass the Taxi Driver Vocational Licence Course

To be an UberX driver:

-You must be at least 25 years old

-You must have a valid Class 3/3A Singapore driving license for a continuous period of at least 1 year

-You must be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident

MOT could look to tighten the requirements for uberX drivers (passing a medical exam, clean driving record for a year) or loosen the requirements for taxi drivers (dropping the English standard prerequisite).

Whatever Ng chooses to do with UberX, here's hoping it'll remain as affordable for passengers as it currently is.

Top photo from Uber Singapore's Facebook page.

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