Many Have Not Attended PDVL Training or Registered
to Take the PDVL Test Once Over the Past Year Despite Reminders

    Private Hire Car (PHC) drivers, who are currently providing chauffeured services on an Approval-to-Drive (ATD) concession^[1] and have yet to obtain their PHC Driver’s Vocational Licence (PDVLs) will not be able to provide chauffeured services after 30 June 2018.

PHC drivers holding ATD concession

2.  About 42,900 PHC drivers, who applied for the PDVL before 1 July 2017, were issued the ATD concession, and given at least one year to obtain a PDVL. Since the beginning of 2018, LTA has been actively reminding PHC drivers who have yet to obtain their PDVL, to attend the course and pass the test early. To facilitate PDVL applicants in their application for PDVL training and testing slots, LTA appointed ComfortDelGro (CDG) Taxi as a new training provider, and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) as a new test centre in December 2017. This is on top of the existing training and test centre at the Singapore Taxi Academy (STA)^[2]. About 19,900 ATD concession holders have attended and passed the test so far.

3.  As at 17 June 2018, more than four in five of the remaining 23,000 ATD concession holders have not registered to sit for the test even once, despite reminders from the Land Transport Authority, Grab and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association, to do so. More than nine in ten of these ATD concession holders who have not attempted the test a single time, have also not attended the PDVL training.

4.  ATD concession holders who have not obtained their PDVL, but wish to continue providing chauffeured services after 30 June 2018, will need to re-apply^[3] for the PDVL with the exception of those ATD concession holders who have registered for their PDVL course and test before 30 June, but have been scheduled for the tests in early July.  These ATD concession holders need not re-apply for their PDVL, and will be allowed to provide chauffeured services once they obtain the PDVL.

PDVL Training and Test

5.  To ensure commuter safety, PDVL holders are required to meet stringent safety standards. Since the implementation of the PDVL, around 70% of applicants who took the test have passed.

6.  The provision of chauffeured service puts drivers in contact with a wide range of commuters every day. Hence, PHC and taxi drivers must be able to speak simple English to communicate effectively with all commuters – both Singaporeans and tourists. Drivers must also be able to read English, so that they can navigate roads and buildings, the names of which are primarily in English.

7.  Those who need help to improve their English are encouraged to sign up for the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) Workplace Literacy Program (using their SkillsFuture Credit) or equivalent. Applicants who need help in understanding the course and passing the test are also strongly encouraged to sign up for remedial classes, which are regularly conducted by the STA and CDG Taxi training centres. LTA also constantly reviews the course and test curriculum content to make sure that they are updated and relevant.

8.  Drivers who no longer wish to provide chauffeured services or are unable to pass the PDVL test may approach e2i or Workforce Singapore for employment assistance. LTA will also work with Grab and training providers to help refer these drivers to e2i’s job fair^[4]on 2 July 2018, which will have driving, delivery, or logistics-related jobs.

9.  Drivers who provide chauffeured services without a valid vocational licence will be liable, upon conviction, to a fine of up to $1,000 or a jail term of up to 3 months, or both. Repeat offenders will be liable, upon conviction, to a fine of up to $2,000 or a jail term of up to 6 months, or both.


Annex: PDVL Application Figures