23,000 private hire car drivers yet to get vocational licence as deadline looms: LTA
As many as 23,000 private hire car (PHC) drivers in Singapore will not be allowed to provide chauffeured services after 30 June unless they obtain the PHC Driver’s Vocational License (PDVL).
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a press release on Friday (22 June) that about 42,900 drivers who applied for the PDVL before 1 July last year were issued approval-to-drive (ATDs) concessions and given at least one year to obtain their PDVLs.
As at 17 June this year, 17,700 ATD holders had not registered for the PDVL course and the test, while 5,300 had not passed the test, according to figures from LTA.
ATD concession holders who have not obtained their PDVLs but wish to continue providing chauffeured services after end-June will need to re-apply for the PDVL, the authority added.
The exception will be those who have registered for their PDVL course and test before the end of the month and 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,” LTA said.
Drivers who no longer wish to continue providing chauffeured services or are unable to pass the PDVL test may approach e2i or Workforce Singapore for employment assistance, LTA added.
Drivers who provide chauffeured services without a valid vocational licence will be liable, upon conviction, for a fine of up to $1,000 or a jail term of up to three months, or both.
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