Debated in Parliament on 13 Sep 2016.
Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Transport (a) how the average income of taxi drivers has been affected by the greater number of private hire vehicles; and (b) how the taxi availability framework should be finetuned.
Mdm Speaker, the average monthly gross earnings of taxi drivers, before netting off rental and fuel costs, have remained relatively unchanged since 2013. Average monthly net income has, however, increased by about 5% in real terms due to lower fuel costs.
The taxi availability standards benefit the street hail customer. Today, about 80% of all taxis are able to meet the daily minimum mileage requirement of 250 kilometres per day. Of these taxis, more than three quarters ply more than 300 km per day. In addition, the proportion of two-shift taxis has increased from 53% to 68% since the introduction of the standards. This means that there are now more taxis available on the road for the commuter.
I should also point out that the standard for daily minimum mileage is not meant to be achieved at the individual taxi level, but at the company's fleet level. For example, during weekends, the standard is that 75% of a taxi company's fleet must meet the daily minimum mileage.
With the growth of hailing apps and the private hire car industry in recent years, there may be room for us to adjust the taxi availability standards. As I had updated Parliament earlier, we are monitoring the situation closely and will review the standards at the end of this year.
Mr Desmond Choo.
I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. Indeed, it is heartening to know that livelihoods would not be affected. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State how we would balance the greater convenience for commuters versus ensuring that taxi drivers continue to enjoy a good livelihood.
I thank the Member for the question. We are monitoring the situation closely, gathering data on commuters' preferences and the availability of taxis on the roads. So, where appropriate, we will further level the playing field for the industry and we will, as I said earlier, review the taxi availability framework with a balanced view towards commuters' needs and also the welfare of taxi drivers. We expect to be able to say more towards the end of the year when we have gathered sufficient data for a comprehensive review.
Order. End of Question Time. Ministerial Statement, Minister Gan Kim Yong.
[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]
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