Cabbies, private-hire drivers no longer allowed to make deliveries after trial ends
SINGAPORE - Taxi and private-hire car drivers will no longer be allowed to deliver food or goods after a three-year trial of such services end on Friday.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday that it decided not to extend the delivery services trial due to limited take-up and the need to safeguard the supply of taxi and private-hire cars.
This comes amid an increase in demand for point-to-point transport (P2P) services and an ongoing driver crunch.
As taxis and private-hire cars drivers are licensed to carry paying passengers, they are not allowed to be couriers or deliverymen for goods if there is no passenger on board.
This rule was temporarily lifted on March 29, 2020, to keep P2P drivers afloat during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as income from taxi and ride-hailing trips dried up.
Covid-19 restrictions also forced many to stay at home, resulting in a surge in demand for delivery services and a shortage of delivery slots at the time.
The temporary lifting of the rule under the delivery services trial was meant to last for three months.
But the trial was extended four times as the authorities continued to offer ways for drivers to supplement their incomes while passenger demand recovered.
The last extension was in September 2022.
By then, the average number of taxi and private-hire car drivers carrying out deliveries each month since the trial started had fallen to about 9,500, from 17,500 in August 2021.
In response to queries, LTA said ride-hailing giant Grab, which also provides food, grocery and parcel delivery services, is the only P2P operator still participating in the trial. From Saturday, the 500 Grab drivers still making deliveries will have to cease doing so.
LTA said in November 2022 that the option to perform delivery services had not adversely affected the supply of P2P vehicles.
But there has been recent concern in over a mismatch in supply and demand that has driven up fares and waiting times.
The number of active drivers fell from 69,000 before Covid-19 to 55,000 at the end of 2022. However, P2P ridership has continued its recovery, reaching 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by February at about 582,000 daily trips.
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