Debated in Parliament on 9 May 2016.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will review the COE quota and pricing policy for taxi hirers in view of the increasing demand from new competitors in the market and the introduction of new regulations for these new competitors.
In August 2012, taxis were taken out of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) bidding process. Taxi operators are allowed to pay the Category A Prevailing Quota Premium for their COEs, regardless of the model of taxi being registered, in recognition of their public transport role. The Taxi Availability standards were also introduced, and taxi operators can grow their fleets by up to 2% per annum, subject to them meeting the standards.
Since the introduction of the standards, more taxis are plying the roads to serve commuters, especially during peak hours, and the taxis are being more efficiently utilised. We will not be removing this COE concession for taxis nor the cap on taxi fleet growth for now. We will continue to regularly review the issue.
PAPERCUTS