Pasir Ris-Punggol MP Yeo Wan Ling said in a Facebook post on 11 November that NTUC Singapore had received feedback from drivers about the incident where a taxi driver was issued a warning for not checking his taxi for any items left behind by a passenger.
She said that the National Taxi Association and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association were concerned about the incident, and NTUC Singapore asked the LTA for an explanation.
LTA replied that it was a “long standing rule” that serves as good practice for the drivers, but they have since withdrawn the warning to the driver.
Here is what she said
Our drivers have given us feedback with regards to the above incident, where one of our drivers received a written warning by the LTA for “having failed to search the vehicle for any property accidentally left behind by the hirer”.
Like our taxi and PHV driving community, the NTA and NPHVA are concerned about the warning received by the driver and we reached out to the LTA for an explanation and clarifications on behalf of our P2P community.
LTA clarified that this is a long-standing rule, and serves as a good practice on the part of the driver. The LTA has decided to withdraw the warning letter and shared that the intent was to remind the driver on such good practices and the LTA has never prosecuted any driver for such breaches.
Going forward, the LTA agreed to review the continued relevance of this rule together with stakeholders.
The Associations and NTUC Singapore believe that the safety of our drivers must be a top priority and their work conditions often do not allow drivers to “search for items accidentally left behind by hirers” safely and effectively. While it is a good practice to have, it should not be an obligation that attracts penalties. We thank the LTA for withdrawing the letter of warning to our driver and will continue to work together with the LTA and other stakeholders to support our drivers.