Debated in Parliament on 4 Mar 2026.
The following question stood in the name of Mr Vikram Nair –
To ask the Acting Minister for Transport (a) whether the steady increase in Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence is a sustainable trend; and (b) whether there are plans to manage the number of private hire car drivers.
Question No 5.
Who is answering?
I apologise, Mr Speaker, the question is Question No 5, which is on whether or not there is a steady increase in the vocational licences, whether there is a sustainable trend and whether there are plans to manage the number of private hire car (PHC) drivers.
The number of Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licences has continued to be roughly maintained at the same level for the past few years. There are no plans at the moment for us to constrain the total number of drivers. It is important for us to have PHCs continue to be an important mode of transport in our transport system, largely because they provide for people who are unable to drive or are unwilling to own a car but yet would like to have access to private transport on a pay-per-use basis. And I think we want to be able to continue to do that.
The taxi or the point-to-point population has increased from 28,000 10 years ago, to roughly around 70,000 today. That represents a significant increase. But at the same time, I think if you look at the number of total rides, it is about 400,000 a day, that is substantial and it complements our public transport provision, which is still going to be our main focus for our transport policy. So, we have no intention at the moment to curtail the number, but I think the number has stabilised over time.
Mr Nair.
I thank the Minister for the response. I think generally leaving the numbers to the free market is not objectionable. The only caveat is that in the case of private hire drivers, people may be giving up opportunities to engage in other professions in order to have the freedom of being a private hire driver. And if the numbers were to go up too much, they may not be able to earn a livelihood. I suggest there might be some basis to intervene in the market, if the numbers appear too large, or private hire drivers' incomes and all that keep going down.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I agree with the hon Member that indeed there are alternative occupations that, particularly this group who are Singaporean, can potentially take in the economy. But this group of PHC drivers, it is a diverse group. There are professional drivers who are doing the same thing as taxi drivers, driving full time. There are people who are also in transient employment. And this is a good way for them to come in and continue to earn an income, maybe when they are in between jobs.
And so, to that end, we have not intentionally tried to restrict the numbers, but as the Member has pointed out, this is a important pool of labour. Certainly, I would appreciate if some of them go into the bus industry, help us address the constraint that we have for public buses. But we have to leave it to the market and to let them decide.
PAPERCUTS