Complaints of Unruly Passengers by Female Taxi Drivers

Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the top three complaints concerning unruly passengers that are lodged by female taxi drivers in the last three years; and (b) what are the solutions the Ministry has put in place to address the concerns of these female drivers who are providing a public transport service.

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All taxi drivers have the right to work in a safe environment, free from crimes, such as verbal and physical abuse, injury, outrage of modesty and robbery.

Taxi companies have installed panic buttons in their taxis for emergency purposes. A taxi driver in distress can activate the button to alert his taxi company's call centre, which would then communicate with the driver to check on the situation. Most call centres are also able to identify the location of the taxi through their GPS system, and alert taxi drivers in the vicinity and the Singapore Police Force if further assistance is required.

Despite the precautions in place, taxi drivers must still exercise vigilance. The number of cases reported by female taxi drivers against unruly passengers has been low. Over the last three years, four out of a total of 50 reported cases were from female drivers. Two were for robbery and the other two were for outrage of modesty. LTA will continue to work with the taxi companies and the Police to improve the safety of taxi drivers against unruly passengers.