SINGAPORE — The moves to standardise some aspects of the taxi fare structure will prevent taxi fares from becoming more “complex”, but they fail to meet the expectations of stakeholders, said the National Taxi Association (NTA) today (March 31).

Speaking after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced the findings of its taxi fare structure review today, NTA executive advisor Ang Hin Kee said the next step should be to simplify fare structures further, by relooking flag-down fares, which currently vary across companies. The LTA and PTC had decided not to standardise this as taxi companies had said it would likely lead to a higher flag-down fare across the board.

Mr Ang said this has to be done in a way that will bring benefits to consumers, and still ensure that the livelihood of taxi drivers are assured.

The NTA also said that it welcomes the fact that the Public Transport Council would be more actively involved in taxi fare structuring. It hopes that the council would ensure that the interests of smaller market players, commuters and taxi drivers are taken care of and heard.

The NTA will also play a “proactive” role in supporting the council by contributing insights regarding the impact of taxi fare on rental and the livelihood of taxi drivers, it added.