S'pore drivers say business up by about 30% following LTA clampdown on illegal cross-border ride-hailing services

Ride-hailing and taxi drivers in Singapore have reportedly seen an increase in business of up to 30 per cent after the authorities here and in Malaysia have cracked down on illegal cross-border ride-hailing services.

Drivers interviewed by Shin Min Daily News complained that such illegal cross-border ride-hailing services would ferry passengers into Singapore, and afterwards, would continue to provide point-to-point services on the island without a valid licence to do so.

They said these ride-hailing drivers would subsequently visit tourist attractions in Singapore to solicit customers, affecting the business of local drivers.

Local drivers also said they knew of Malaysian ride-hailing services that specialised in transporting travellers who had landed in Singapore to multiple destinations.

These trips would culminate in passengers being ferried back to Johor Bahru (JB), at cheaper rates than legal Singapore-based services, said drivers.

30% more business after crackdown by authorities: Local driver

A limousine taxi driver, surnamed Chen (transliteration), told Shin Min that the issue of Malaysian drivers providing illegal ride-hailing services in Singapore has caused a lot of unhappiness among local drivers.

However, Chen noted that due to the increased enforcement efforts by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on illegal cross-border ride-hailing services, local drivers have seen a surge in business recently as competition has gone down.

"I myself saw 30 per cent more business over the past few days," Chen said.

LTA said 19 motorists providing illegal ride-hailing services to and from Malaysia were caught during the most recent crackdown by Singapore authorities.

They were caught at locations such as Gardens by the Bay, Changi Airport and at a land checkpoint in collaboration with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), LTA said in an Aug. 6 Facebook post.

In total, more than a few dozen illegal ride-hailing drivers have been caught over the past few weeks.

In light of enforcement efforts from authorities, 70 per cent of illegal cross-border ride-hailing services from Malaysia reportedly decided to suspend their services ahead of the National Day weekend.

Similar enforcement efforts have been conducted by authorities on the Malaysia side.

On Aug. 9, the Johor Road Transport Department reportedly seized two Singapore-registered SUVs suspected of soliciting and picking up passengers near Legoland Malaysia.

Taxi drivers benefitting

Two other drivers, who have been driving taxis for 10 years, told Shin Min that they have seen a 10 per cent increase in passengers of late.

Another driver, surnamed Cai (transliteration), who was interviewed at a Sentosa taxi stand by Shin Min, said his business has recently surged by 20 per cent.

Will stay away from such services for now: Customer

Chen added that in light of enforcement efforts, some Malaysian drivers have offered to transfer their business to Singapore drivers in exchange for a fee.

"But no one dares to take these jobs, as they don't want to take the risk of [offering illegal services in Malaysia]," Chen told Shin Min.

A Singapore passenger, surnamed Wang (transliteration), told Shin Min that he previously hired a Malaysian ride-hailing service to take him from his home to Mid Valley Southkey mall in JB.

To hire a driver for 10 hours, including transport in JB and back to his home, he would typically pay S$300 to S$400, Wang said.

Wang said this fee was attractive to him as a regular taxi would have already cost him S$90 to S$100 for a one-way trip, and it was also convenient to leave his luggage and shopping in the vehicle during the day trip.

But given the recent enforcement by authorities, he will be staying away from such services for the time being, said Wang.

Why are authorities clamping down?

Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling said on Aug. 6 that the intent of clamping down on illegal point-to-point services is to tackle the drivers who lack the proper licence and insurance coverage for their passengers.

"Such services put passengers at risk, and harms the livelihoods of law-abiding licensed drivers," she added.

Sun shared that the Singapore authorities are looking to improve the licensed cross-border taxi scheme by expanding the boarding and alighting points and encouraging more taxis to be part of the scheme.

This also includes different vehicle types to cater to various passenger needs and a user-friendly booking app.

However, Sun said that as these are reciprocal arrangements with Malaysia, both governments need to agree on the changes.

Since 2022, 136 drivers have been caught providing illegal cross-border passenger transport services using foreign-registered vehicles.

All of their vehicles were impounded.

The penalties for those who have been charged and convicted so far include fines of up to S$2,600 and vehicle forfeiture.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News