Compensation to Point-to-point Drivers for Downtime Taken to Install New On-Board Units in Their Vehicles

Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Transport in view of the upcoming rollout of ERP 2.0, whether there are considerations to compensate point-to-point drivers on the downtime that is required for installing the new on-board units in their vehicles.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been engaging taxi operators and the National Taxi Association (NTA) on plans for the installation of the new On-Board Unit (OBU) in taxis. All taxi operators have agreed to compensate taxi drivers for the downtime incurred during the installation of the new OBU.

Private hire cars, which are either leased from car rental companies or owned by drivers themselves, will be scheduled for the OBU installation later. LTA will engage the relevant stakeholders closer to the scheduled period.

Thank you, Speaker. For every hour of downtime, our taxis and private hire drivers lose an hour of earnings. Would the Ministry share how long it may take for installation and how the Ministry would plan for the efficient roll-out, minimising wait times, given that there are over 50,000 taxis and private hire vehicles in Singapore now?

Are there also plans to work with private hire vehicles rental companies on sharing the burdens with our drivers by providing lower rentals during the downtime?

I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. We understand the concerns and, in fact, that is the reason why we have been engaging the taxi operators as well as the NTA drivers to look at how we can minimise downtime for the taxi drivers.

For the taxi operators, some of them are planning to dovetail the new OBU installation with the regular taxi maintenance servicing schedule, so as to reduce the need to go to the workshop another time, and hence, minimise the downtime for the taxi drivers.

Some other taxi operators are planning to recall the taxis for the new OBU installation on days when the workshops are free. And again, that will help to minimise downtime because you will minimise wait time at the workshop.

The time taken to install the OBU really depends on the vehicle type and make, the model of the vehicle. So, it will vary. The workshop will give an estimate of the duration of the installation time required when the driver makes the installation appointment and they have assessed the vehicle type or model.

As I have said in my main reply, the taxi operators have agreed to compensate the taxi drivers for the downtime incurred in the form of rental rebate to offset the downtime.

For the private hire cars (PHCs) which are either leased from the rental companies or they may be individually owned, we will be commencing installation of the OBU later and we will, in the same vein, engage the relevant stakeholders – whether it is the ride hail operators or the drivers association – and look at issues, including ways to minimise the downtime for them.