SINGAPORE — Setting a minimum age for private-hire car drivers is not easy, and doing so would affect the number of drivers providing point-to-point services. This, in turn, would crimp availability, Dr Janil Puthucheary said.

However, the Senior Minister of State for Transport said that the Government will review the size of the driver pool against the needs of the point-to-point transport industry. He was speaking during a debate on the Point-to-Point Passenger Transport Industry Bill, which was passed in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 6).

Several Members of Parliament (MPs) had suggested setting a minimum age for private-hire car drivers, in part to narrow the gap with the taxi industry, where drivers must be at least 30 years old.

As for fares — a big peeve among commuters — Dr Puthucheary said that it was never the intention to regulate fare levels, which are best left to market forces. But the Public Transport Council (PTC) will be given powers to ensure fares are transparent under a new regulatory regime, which will start from June next year, he added.

The new laws stem from a review of the regulations governing the point-to-point transport sector to stave off the spectre of a monopoly.

The review, announced in March last year, came weeks after news emerged that United States ride-hailing firm Uber was preparing to sell its regional business to Grab, a Singapore-based ride-hailing company. The sale was later declared anti-competitive, and the two firms were fined more than S$13 million by Singapore’s antitrust watchdog.

PROPOSAL TO SET MINIMUM AGE

Amid concerns that young people are turning to private-hire car driving to earn a living and that they may be less experienced on the roads, MPs suggested that the authorities set a minimum age for private-hire car drivers.

Right now, applicants must have held a driver’s licence for at least two years to qualify for a Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence. This means they could be as young as 20 years old.

Yet concerns linger over the long-term job prospects for young drivers.

Mr Ang Hin Kee, MP for Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC), asked: “Do we really want to see more young drivers doing this on a full-time basis, forgoing the opportunity to… enlarge their skill sets?”

Mr Ang, who is adviser to the National Taxi Association and National Private Hire Vehicles Association, proposed that drivers must be at least 30 years old — the minimum age for taxi vocational-licence holders — and hold Singapore citizenship.

Mr Yee Chia Hsing, MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC, suggested that applicants be at least 25 years old, though current drivers below this age should be allowed to continue in the trade.

Assuming that drivers obtain their licence soon after turning 18, taxi drivers would have at least 10 years’ driving experience, compared with a young private-hire car driver with a minimum of two years on the roads, he added.

Mr Yee said that he has seen many private-hire car drivers speeding and turning a blind eye to basic road manners. “I suppose this might be related to the relatively young age of the drivers as well as (a) lack of maturity,” he said.

In reply, Dr Puthucheary said that raising the minimum age was “not quite an easy decision”. He noted that there was no consensus on what this age should be.

What is more, the number of drivers in their 20s is not large. Four per cent of private-hire car drivers are between 20 and 25 years old, and 12 per cent are 25 to 29 years old. Many are “light part-time drivers”, Dr Puthucheary said.

However, he acknowledged that the concerns were valid and said that the Government will look into the size of the driver pool vis-a-vis the needs of the sector.

The authorities will study the issue of drivers’ age carefully and consult all stakeholders before making a “considered decision”, he said.

Dr Puthucheary rejected suggestions that younger private-hire car drivers were more dangerous. “There isn’t data to suggest specifically that younger private-hire car drivers are over-represented in accidents,” he said.

NOT THE PLAN TO REGULATE FARES

Some MPs, such as Ms Joan Pereira of Tanjong Pagar GRC, suggested that the Government set a limit on fares, having noted the persistent grumbles over dynamic fares, which climb when demand rises.

Dr Puthucheary said that the intention is not for the PTC to regulate fare levels, set caps or provide algorithms.

Many benefits of the ride-hailing space so far have come about because fares have been allowed to work as an “efficient resource-matching mechanism”, he added. This ensures commuters get rides at peak hours.

“There are many forms of services, each requiring different fare levels, and given the breadth of service offerings and the dynamic nature of these conditions, we think we (had) best leave it to market forces,” he added.

Commuters’ choices are an important control on fares, and operators are “very alive” to this, he said.

DEBATE OVER CHILD SEATS

MPs also wanted the Government to narrow the gap between the taxi and private-hire car sectors in other areas.

Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng and Workers’ Party (WP) Non-Constituency MP Dennis Tan called for consistency in the policy on child safety seats.

It is illegal for private-hire cars to ferry children under 1.35m without a child restraint appropriate for the child’s height and weight. Taxis, though, are exempt from this requirement.

Saying this compromised the safety of children in taxis, Mr Ng said a “Toyota Vios is a Toyota Vios”, whether it was registered to provide a taxi or ride-hailing service.

Taking out his mobile phone in the House to check, Mr Ng noted that hiring a private-hire vehicle with a child seat costs only S$2 more. “In this case, if S$2 could save the life of your child, I am not sure what is holding us back,” he said.

The Government, Dr Puthucheary said, would like to “do more work” in this space, but could not reach a compromise, because opinions on the matter are divided not only among operators and drivers, but commuters.

There has been feedback from the public that it would, for instance, be “impossible” for a parent with three children of various ages to take a taxi unless it carries three seats of differing sizes.

But he gave the assurance that the authorities are looking into the matter and discussions are continuing. “Yes, it could be better. We would like to do more work on it.” 

On another point, Mr Tan from WP asked if more could be done to protect drivers’ welfare to prevent them clocking “unreasonable hours” on the roads — in some cases more than 10 hours — to cash in on incentives offered by ride-hailing companies.

To this, Dr Puthucheary replied that a full-time driver works about eight hours on average. He added that if the authorities were to intervene, it may reduce the attractiveness of the job. This may constrain the supply of drivers and ultimately drive up prices.

There are “consequences and trade-offs”, he said.