COVID: Taxi and rental car drivers to get $10 more daily top-up per vehicle – LTA
SINGAPORE — The government will set aside an additional $27 million to provide a further $10 per vehicle per day top-up for taxi and rental car drivers amid a significant drop in ridership due to tightened safe management measures.
The sum will be channeled into the COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund (CDRF) from 16 May to end June, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (21 May).
This is on top of the $188 million which the government had already committed for CDRF payments from January to June. In total, drivers will receive $25 per vehicle per day, up from $15 per vehicle per day previously. This works out to be $750 per vehicle per month until the end of June.
The move comes as taxi and rental car ridership declined significantly in the initial period of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), which started on 16 May and will end on 13 June, the LTA said in a statement.
This is due to tighter safe management measures, which include a reduction in permissible group size, default working-from-home arrangements, suspension of dining out, and schools shifting to full home-based learning.
All taxi and rental car drivers who are eligible for the CDRF will automatically receive the top-up through their operators.
ComfortDelgro had earlier announced a 50 per cent rental waiver for its drivers and other taxi operators are providing additional rental discounts of at least $5/day above their current commitment of $10/day to their drivers. In total, taxi operators have pledged around $28 million in additional taxi rental discount. GoJek has also cut commissions for its drivers.
As ridership is likely to take time to recover after the end of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), the government is looking into a further extension to the CDRF beyond the current tranche ending in end June, the LTA said.
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