Allowing Private Hire Car and Taxi Drivers to Install Passenger Facing Video Recorders with Audio Functions

The following question stood in the name of Ms Yeo Wan Ling –

To ask the Minister for Transport in light that passengers of private hire cars and taxis have taken to videoing in-vehicle disputes on devices such as handphones, whether LTA will consider allowing such drivers to install passenger facing video recorders with audio functions.

Since 2019, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has allowed taxi and private hire car drivers to install passenger-facing video recorders with audio functions in their vehicles, with prior permission from LTA, and only at LTA-authorised installation centres.

To protect passengers' privacy and guard against misuse, recordings made by these devices can only be accessed for investigation and enforcement purposes, such as in fare-related disputes and by authorised Government personnel and LTA-authorised persons only. They must also be stored securely.

Vehicles with such devices must be affixed with a notice to inform passengers and passengers must also be informed by operators should such a vehicle be matched to them. This is to give passengers a choice on whether they wish to take a vehicle equipped with such a recording device.

Taxi and private hire car drivers may not install and use unauthorised recording devices, such as their personal mobile phones, to record audio and/or video within their vehicles.

We encourage both point-to-point (P2P) drivers and commuters to treat each other with respect and act graciously when providing or using P2P services. In cases where drivers have been harassed by passengers who have used recording devices and shared these recordings online without the drivers' consent, drivers may seek recourse, including under the Protection from Harassment Act.