Debated in Parliament on 13 Jul 2015.
Mr Seng Han Thong asked the Minister for Transport (a) how many motorists have been booked since the implementation of closed circuit television (CCTV) to deter illegal parking on roads; (b) among the offenders, how many of them are taxi drivers; and (c) from the CCTV footage, whether it is possible to distinguish indiscriminate illegal parking from that of taxi drivers who are merely discharging their public transport duties by alighting or picking passengers at these CCTV locations without causing obstruction or creating safety problems.
The number of illegal parking violations has fallen sharply since the introduction of CCTV enforcement in April 2014, from a monthly average of 915 per location to 131. This is less than 15% of the original number of violations and testifies to the effectiveness of the CCTVs in deterring illegal parking. All 70 locations where the CCTVs have been installed have seen significant improvements in traffic flow and public bus operations.
About one in six illegal parking summonses was issued to taxi drivers. We adopt the same enforcement approach for taxis and other vehicle types. This means that aside from controlled areas indicated by double yellow zig-zag lines or a single white zig-zag line, where any stopping is an offence that carries demerit points, at other locations, taxis are allowed a reasonable time to stop by the roadside to pick up or alight passengers.
PAPERCUTS