LTA: Eight illegal cross-border ride-hailing drivers caught and vehicles impounded after industry tip-offs

SINGAPORE: Eight drivers have been caught providing illegal cross-border ride-hailing services at Singapore’s land checkpoints and in the Changi area, with all vehicles impounded following tip-offs from the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA) and the National Taxi Association.

Drivers caught offering such services face fines of up to S$3,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, with possible vehicle forfeiture.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) reminded commuters that only licensed cross-border ride-hailing services booked through Grab, or Singapore-registered cross-border taxis, are permitted to provide cross-border transfers from anywhere in Singapore to Johor Bahru, Iskandar Puteri, Forest City, Kulai, and Senai.

Netizens react

The enforcement action drew responses pointing to well-known hotspots and calls for tougher measures on both sides of the transaction.

One commenter suggested authorities focus intelligence efforts on known touting locations: “LTA and NPHVA should deploy spies at Jalan Jim Quee or the City Square bridge to identify these drivers. They are always there touting. Very easy, will catch them.” The suggestion shows that perhaps there’s community awareness about illegal touting at fixed locations has been an open secret for some time.

Two commenters separately raised the idea of extending penalties to passengers, not just drivers. “Enact a law to fine the passengers too. When the buying stops, the illegal services will stop,” one wrote. The other one stated: “The law needs to apply more heavily: fine the driver and also fine the rider who takes the illegal transport for cross-border or local transfer. If the fine doesn’t apply to the rider, they will continue to engage illegal services.”

One commenter noted what appeared to be a broadening of the vehicle types involved in illegal touting: “Now small cars also join in the fray?", suggesting the practice is no longer confined to the larger vehicles traditionally associated with cross-border transfers.

Read also: LTA rewards safe bus captains as AI-powered monitoring system expands across Singapore