CNA: LTA adjusts
method of computing taxi availability
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/lta-adjusts-method-of/1949900.html
Using only the hired-out fleet to compute taxi availability
removes the variation arising from the unhired taxi fleet and
measures the efficiency of hired taxis more accurately, says the
Land Transport Authority.
SINGAPORE: The Taxi
Availability (TA) will be now be computed based on taxi companies’
respective hired-out fleet, instead of their registered fleet, said
the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Tuesday (Jun 30).
The adjustment takes into
account feedback from the National Taxi Association and taxi
companies. It will be applied retrospectively from Jan 1, 2015,
with TA standards remaining unchanged.
Currently, TA is computed on
the basis of taxi companies’ respective registered fleet, as LTA
wants the companies to deploy on the streets as many as possible
all the taxis which they have registered and for which special COEs
had been allocated.
However, LTA said using only
the hired-out fleet to compute TA removes the variation arising
from the unhired taxi fleet and measures the efficiency of hired
taxis more accurately. Taxi drivers would not have to increase
their mileage to make up for the non-performance of the unhired
taxis.
LTA added that it will
maintain the standards for both TA indicators. Taxi companies that
have the requisite percentage of taxis on the roads during peak
periods, and percentage of taxis with minimum daily mileage of
250km, in four months out of every half-yearly period, will be able
to grow their fleet in the corresponding six-month period of the
following year, capped at 2 per cent per annum for
now.
Financial penalties will
continue to be imposed on taxi companies that are unable to meet
the TA standards for two consecutive months for the same indicator,
said LTA. The financial penalty amount will continue to be computed
based on taxi companies’ registered fleets.
SMRT, PRIME
PENALISED
Since the introduction of the
TA standards on Jan 1, 2013, the percentage of hired-out taxis on
the roads during peak periods has increased from 82.4 per cent in
2012 to 90 per cent in the first four months of 2015, said LTA.
This translates to more than 2,000 more taxis being available to
commuters during these hours.
According to LTA, companies
Comfort, CityCab and SMRT have consistently met the required
standard in the first four months of 2015 based on their hired-out
fleets. At least 60 per cent of their hired-out fleet were on the
roads during the shoulder peak periods of 6am to 7am and 11pm to 12
midnight, and at least 85 per cent during the core peak periods of
7am to 11am and 5pm to 11pm.
Trans-Cab met the standard in
February, March and April, while Premier met the standard in
January, February and March. Prime did not meet the standard in the
first four months of 2015.
As for daily mileage, Comfort
consistently met the standard in the first four months of 2015,
with at least 85 per cent of its fleet achieving the minimum daily
mileage of 250km on weekdays and 75 per cent of its fleet on
weekends and public holidays.
CityCab met the standard in
January, March and April 2015, while Trans-Cab met the standard in
March and April 2015. Premier, SMRT and Prime did not meet the
standard in the first four months of 2015, LTA
said.
As such, LTA has served
notices of penalties to SMRT for the months of January and
February, and to Prime for the months of January, February and
March 2015.
"LTA strongly urges taxi
companies not to pass down the penalties incurred to their drivers
if the companies fail the TA standards. Taxi companies should
instead continue their good work in assisting their drivers to
achieve these standards," it said.
- CNA/eg