Taxis of Singapore

Taxicabs are a popular form of public transport in the compact sovereign city-state of Singapore, with fares considered relatively low compared to those in most cities in developed countries. Currently, the taxi number ratio is declining with the rise of Uber and Grab, private hire cars and tighter emission regime with at least minimum Euro 4 standard.^[1]

Within the country's ethnic Chinese population, taxis are colloquially called 德士 (déshì). Similar to Hong Kong, the name derives from the English term "Taxi".

Taxis may be flagged down at any time of the day along any public road outside of the Singapore Central Business District (CBD). Issues of high traffic and demand in certain locations and areas, particularly in the downtown area and other major buildings and establishments around the island, require the building of taxi stands. As taxis may conversely be harder to obtain in less densely populated areas, as well as to meet the needs of time-sensitive users, taxis may be booked via telephone or through the internet for a fee, which is then transmitted to individual taxis via a Global Positioning System (GPS) or digital voice dispatch.

Stringent requirements ensure that all taxis are fitted with meters and are air-conditioned and serviceable. Drivers who fail to utilise their meters may be fined up to S$500, an enforced rule which brings fare disputes down to a minimum. About 90% of taxis have inbuilt AM broadcasting communications.

Operations

Taxis are predominantly operated by large companies, which require a Taxi Operator Licence (TOL) from the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Holders of the TOL are required to comply with LTA's Quality of Service (QoS) standards, codes of practice and audit directions, failure of which the LTA may revoke the licence.

ComfortDelGro, SMRT Taxis, TransCab, Silvercab and Prime Taxis allows flagdown and bookings. Grab and Uber only allows bookings through the smartphone.

As of September 2017, there are five taxi companies in Singapore and two private hire car companies in Singapore:^[1]

Taxi company	Brand	TOL/PHL started in	Fleet	Dominant colour	Link	Booking app
ComfortDelGro	Comfort CityCab	1970 1995	11,954 3,962	Blue Yellow	[1]	iOS Android
SMRT Corporation	SMRT Taxis	2003 (June)	3,158	Brown	[2]	iOS Android
TransCab	TransCab	2003 (August)	4,303	Red	[3]	iOS Android
Premier Taxis	Silvercab	2003 (October)	1,891	Silver	[4]	iOS Android
Prime Taxis	Prime Taxis	2007	702	Copper	[5]	iOS Android
Grab	GrabCar GrabHitch JustGrab	2013	25,721	Green	[6]	iOS Android
Uber	Uber	2013	26,103	Black	[7]	iOS Android
Total			77,794 (excluding 200 HDT electric taxis^[2])

All taxi drivers in Singapore are required to hold a valid Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (TDVL) issued by the Land Transport Authority, after having met basic prerequisites and successfully completed a training course in the Singapore Taxi Academy and passing a theory test. Holders of the licence may then approach any of the taxi companies to hire a taxi on a daily rental basis, the rental rate and associated benefits of which vary among the various companies.

As of December 2016, there were a total of 100,411 TDVL holders in Singapore.^[1]

Fares

Fares on Singapore's taxis are considered relatively affordable and even "cheap",^[3] and are thus a popular form of public transportation in Singapore, particularly for the upper-middle income groups. Taxi fares were regulated by the Public Transport Council until September 1998 to allow operators full freedom in setting their own fares in a bid to introduce greater competition in the market.

Normal taxi fares are metered at $0.22 for every 400 m thereafter or less which is less than 10km and again every 350m thereafter or less which is more than 10km, and it is an offence for taxi drivers to disable, tamper with, or fail to use their metering devices. Drivers found guilty may be fined up to S$500. Higher metered fares applies to the limousine vehicles at $0.33. The normal flagdown fares varies from $3.20 to $3.90. Waiting can be done at $0.22 for every 45 seconds or less, booking can be done at $2.90 or $3.30. The peak hours are from Monday to Friday, 6am - 9.30am and 6.00pm - 12.00am, and has a surcharge of 25% of the metered fare. The public holiday surcharge is 25% of the metered fare, and whereas for late night, it is 50% of the metered fare. There is also a CBD surcharge of $3, together with Changi Airport surcharge at $5 on weekends from 5.00pm to 12.00am, and $3 at all other times. Others include $3 for Seletar Airport, $3 for Resorts World Sentosa and Singapore Expo.

Current Fares

Fares and surcharges	Grab	Uber
Minimum fare	-	-
Base fare	$2.50	$5.00 (UberXL) $10.00 (ExecLounge) $3.00 (UberPool/Car Seat/UberX) $7.00 (UberExec)
Meter fare	$0.50	$0.80 (UberXL) $3.23 (ExecLounge) $0.45 (UberPool/Car Seat/UberX) $1.95 (UberExec)
Per minute waiting	$0.16	$0.35 (UberXL) $0.60 (ExecLounge) $0.20 (UberPool/Car Seat/UberX) $0.45 (UberExec)
Demand surcharge	Based on demand supply ratio in the area	N/A
Additional waiting time	S$3.00	S$0.20/min
Toll charges	ERP / Sentosa incurred	N/A
Additional stops	$5 per stop / per 5 km up to a maximum of 3 stops	N/A
Booster seat use	$2 per seat on each ride, limited to one child only	N/A

Vehicle types

In 1966, the first diesel Yellow-Top taxi was the Mercedes Benz 180 followed by the Austin Cambridge A60, Morris Oxford Farina and Wolseley 16/60 during of the era. In the 1970s there was the Mercedes Benz W114/W115. The Austin Cambridge A60 and Morris Oxford continued until the early 1980s followed by models of the Opel Rekord D, Peugeot 504, Morris Marina and the Russian made model Volga Gaz 24.

Toyota Crown Comfort. The last of these were scrapped in September 2014 ^[4].

In the mid 1980s, the staple vehicles for all operators were the Toyota Crown, Nissan Cedric and Isuzu Florian. These were stripped-down versions of their Japanese luxury-car siblings, with an emphasis on operating costs over comfort. Cheap plastic fittings and PVC seats replaced materials such as wood and leather, insulation was removed to save weight, and early generation diesel engines replaced the original petrol units. The resulting vehicles were simple to maintain and extremely reliable, but were lacking in comfort, with very high levels of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH).

The move by various operators to various makes and models of premium vehicles came largely as a result of Euro IV regulations, which came into effect in late 2006. The older diesel engines in the Crown and Cedric are unable to meet the new emissions standards, and these taxis will no longer be offered for sale.

The newer taxicabs benefit from vastly improved interiors and more advanced engines with lower emissions and noise levels, which used to be the preserve of the premium Mercedes-Benz "limousine" services.

ComfortDelgro announced it would acquire a fleet of 6,800 Hyundai Sonatas and Hyundai i40 from 2007 to 2014 to replace the retiring Nissan Cedric and Toyota Crown, during which it will separately own the taxicabs for the rest of the life.

Currently, the following vehicle makes and models are in use:

ComfortDelgro Comfort Taxis
Hyundai Sonata 2.0 CRDi Turbo Diesel Hyundai i40 1.7L CRDi Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI & Bluetec (LimoCab) Mercedes-Benz Viano (Maxi Cab) Toyota Vellfire (Maxi Cab) Toyota Prius Hybrid 1.8L

ComfortDelgro CityCab
Hyundai i40 1.7L CRDi Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Hyundai Sonata 2.0 CRDi Turbo Diesel Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI (LimoCab) Mercedes-Benz Viano (Maxi Cab) Toyota Vellfire (Maxi Cab) Toyota Prius Hybrid 1.8L

SMRT Taxis
Chevrolet Epica (also called Daewoo Tosca) Chrysler 300C (Prestige) Hyundai Azera CNG Hyundai Starex (7-Seater Taxi - Space) London TX4 Cab (6-Seater Taxi - Space) SsangYong Rodius SV270 XDI (7-Seater Taxi - Space) Toyota Prius Hybrid 1.8L

Union Energy Corporation TransCab
Chevrolet Epica (also called Daewoo Tosca) Mercedes-Benz E220 Bluetec (Limo) Renault Latitude (also called Renault Samsung SM5) Toyota Wish

Premier Taxis SilverCab
Kia Optima K5 1.7L Hyundai i30cw Mercedes-Benz E220 CDi (SilverStar & Platinum by Premier Taxis) Toyota Wish CNG

Prime Taxis
Toyota Estima Toyota Wish Toyota Prius Hybrid 1.8L Toyota Vellfire 7-Seater Taxi (Hybrid) Honda Freed 7-Seater Taxi Hyundai Avante Honda Airwave Honda Fit Toyota Corolla Axio