Private-hire car drivers need to obtain a vocational licence

Private-hire car drivers from services such Uber and Grab are now required to obtain a vocational licence, as an amendment to the Road Traffic Act was passed in Parliament yesterday.

A tamper-evident decal must be displayed on their vehicles as part of the regulations that were first announced at the Ministry of Transport's Committee of Supply debate last year.

The same safety requirements on taxis apply to private hire cars as on private cars, including compulsory use of seat belts for the driver, and front and back seat passengers.

Airbags are not mandatory, as they are supporting features to supplement seat belts.

This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.