LTA nabs 14 foreign-registered vehicles at Changi Airport for providing illegal transport services

Vehicles impounded after being found providing illegal services at Changi Airport

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has caught a number of foreign-registered vehicles providing illegal transport services, it said.

In a Facebook post on Friday (30 Aug), LTA said a total of 14 drivers and their vehicles had been nabbed and impounded.

3-day operation against illegal services at Changi Airport

The busts were the result of a three-day enforcement operation conducted at Changi Airport earlier this week, LTA said.

The drivers and vehicles in question were caught providing illegal services between Singapore and Malaysia, and within Singapore.

The vehicles were subsequently impounded, LTA added.

‘Positive results’ in tacking illegal services at Changi Airport

LTA also thanked the National Taxi Association (NTA) and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) for their support.

The NPHVA said on Facebook that it collaborated with the LTA to ramp up enforcement efforts against illegal point-to-point services and would continue to work together to protect drivers’ livelihoods.

An earlier NPHVA post also said that it had seen “positive results” in tackling illegal Malaysian point-to-point services at the airport.

This comes after the LTA caught four drivers and their vehicles earlier this month for providing illegal chauffeured services between Singapore and Malaysia.

Cross-border transport services without PSVL are illegal: LTA

Under the Road Traffic Act, all vehicles, including foreign-registered ones, are not allowed to provide taxi or chauffeur services in Singapore without a valid Public Service Vehicle Licence (PSVL).

This includes cross-border trips.

Drivers caught using vehicles not issued with a valid PSVL to provide hire-and-reward services face a fine of up to S$3,000 and/or a jail term of up to six months.

The vehicle used may also be forfeited, LTA said, adding:

We take these offences very seriously and will not condone drivers providing such illegal services.

Public urged to avoid using these services

LTA urged members of the public to avoid using these services for their own safety.

That’s because they’re not only illegal but may also lack adequate insurance coverage.

This poses a serious risk for passengers if an accident occurs.

Crackdown started since at least 2018

LTA has been cracking down on such services for years.

In 2018, it said it had caught 13 drivers for providing illegal chauffeured services using unlicensed, foreign-registered vehicles that year.

Four of them were charged in Feb 2019.

After the pandemic, it seemed that such illegal service providers returned along with cross-border travel as on 21 Feb, LTA said four drivers had been caught.

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Featured image adapted from Land Transport Authority – We Keep Your World Moving on Facebook.