Regulation of Driver Assignments by Private Hire Car Operators to Minimise Unnecessary Travelling Time by Drivers and Pollution

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether LTA regulates how private hire car operators carry out their driver assignments for all booked trips; (b) if so, whether LTA requires private hire car operators to assign booked trips to their drivers nearest to the pick-up locations, to minimise unnecessary travelling by drivers; and (c) if not, whether LTA will consider having such requirements to minimise unnecessary travelling time and pollution.

LTA does not regulate how private hire car (PHC) operators assign booked trips to their drivers. PHC operators have their own algorithms, but commercially, it will make sense for them to match passengers to available drivers who are closest to them, so as to minimise passengers' waiting time and maximise the trip allocations on their platforms.