There has been much uncertainty regarding the private-hire industry in recent times.
Drivers and customers alike are anxiously awaiting how the impending entry of Go-Jek is going to impact prices and fares.
Yet something closer on the horizon might impact the market: an increasing amount of drivers using Malaysia-registered vehicles to provide chauffeuring services in Singapore.
They competes directly with private-hire drivers in Singapore.
A private-hire driver by the name of Kelvin Lam recently caught some of them on camera.
He took to Facebook to spread awareness and pleaded for fellow private-hire drivers to report them to the relevant authorities.
Most of the cars featured in Mr Lams photos had Johor-registered car plates beginning with the letter “J”.
Cars with Perak and Kuala-Lumpur car plates were also seen.
These licence plates start with “A” and “V” respectively.
The vehicles were mostly pictured at the airport. In some cases, the drivers were also seen helping passengers with their baggage.
According to Mr Lam’s post, these illicit drivers have been making appearances at major tourist spots like Gardens ny the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands.
Mr Lam also claimed that he has observed an expansion in their fleet in recent times.
He claimed to have observed a large fleet of brand new vehicles at tourists attractions offering these services.
Mr Lam claims that companies providing these illegal services have a strong presence online, touting their services on virtual platforms like Facebook and Carousell.
According to TODAY’s investigations, there is a huge disparity in price when comparing services using Singapore and Malaysia-registered vehicles.
Unsurprisingly, these drivers are able to offer more attractive prices compared to local drivers, since patrol is significantly cheaper in Malaysia.
Here’s the difference between a Singapore and Malaysia-registered car for a one-way trip from Changi Airport to the city.
A Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesperson told TODAY in August this year that,
ALL VEHICLES, INCLUDING mALAYSIA-REGISTERED CARS CANNOT BE USED TO PROVIDE TAXI OR CHAUFFEURED SERVICES…WITHOUT A PUBLIC SERVICE VEHICLE LICENCE.
Anyone found flouting the law can be fined up to S$3,000, jailed up to 6 months, or both. Their vehicles may also be confiscated in the process.
LTA also revealed statistics that corroborated with Mr Lam’s suspicions of there being a rise in these illicit drivers.
In 2016, LTA took actions against 7 cases of Malaysia-registered vehicles that had flouted the law. This rose to 10 cases in 2017.
In the first half of 2018, LTA reported that it had taken action against 3 such cases.
Have you seen any of these illicit drivers at work or touting their services online?
You may contact LTA at 1800-2255-582 (1800-CALL-LTA) to report them.
Featured image from Facebook and Facebook.
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