Additional $23.5 Million to Continue Support for Taxi and Private Hire Car Drivers
The Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced today that Singapore would move to a stabilisation phase from 27 September to 24 October 2021. To minimise the strain on our healthcare capacity and to slow down transmission, community safe management measures will be further tightened. Taxi and private hire car (PHC) ridership is expected to be affected as work-from-home will be the default arrangement, and permissible group sizes will be reduced. Prior to the announcement of the stabilisation phase, the National Taxi Association (NTA) and National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) had also provided feedback that drivers would require continued support after the current tranche of the COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund (CDRF) ends after September, and requested the Government to extend the CDRF.
CDRF Extension
2. Taking into account the stabilisation phase and NTA and NPHVA’s earlier feedback, the Government will extend the CDRF. Under this extension, drivers will receive $10 per vehicle per day for 31 days from October 2021, and $5 per vehicle per day for the next 30 days.
3. The extension to the CDRF will cost an additional $23.5 million and is expected to benefit about 50,000 drivers. This brings the total amount set aside by the Government for the taxi and PHC sectors to about $500 million since February 2020. On top of the Government’s assistance, taxi operators have pledged to continue rental waivers for drivers.
4. Similar to earlier CDRF tranches, there is no need for drivers to make an application to receive the payouts. Drivers who are currently receiving CDRF payouts will automatically receive the extended payouts through their operators. Taxi main hirers will continue to receive payouts in the form of rental rebates, while PHC drivers will receive the payouts through their e-wallets or directly into their bank accounts. LTA will work with the taxi and PHC operators to implement the latest CDRF payouts, and operators will inform drivers of disbursement details in due course.
5. Drivers who do not qualify for CDRF, including taxi relief drivers, may apply for the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s COVID-19 Recovery Grant (CRG) if they meet its eligibility criteria[1]. Drivers will not be eligible for the CRG if they are receiving CDRF payouts.
Support for taxi and PHC drivers on Quarantine Orders
6. For drivers who are served Quarantine Orders (QOs) after coming into close contact with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 infection, MOH will continue to administer the Quarantine Order Allowance scheme to mitigate the QO’s financial impact. Taxi and PHC operators as well as the NTA and the NPHVA will also continue to provide relief packages to affected drivers.
7. We would like to thank our tripartite partners, including the NTA, the NPHVA, and the taxi and PHC operators, for working closely with LTA to continue to support taxi and PHC drivers during this challenging period.
