A vital need for some, but flagging a cab is getting harder

Seniors, tourists among those who rely on street-hails amid dwindling fleet

- Esther Loi and Whitney William

For housewife Lilian Law, 74, hailing a taxi from the roadside is "not possible" these days as fewer taxis are on the roads.

The senior citizen does not have or know how to use ride-hailing apps, and has "no choice" but to get a cab from Parkway Parade's taxi stand on her return home from grocery shopping.

She takes public transport to get to the mall in Marine Parade as there are no taxi stands near her home in Tanjong Rhu.

Despite the widespread use of ride-hailing apps, Ms Law is among a sizeable number of passengers who still rely heavily on taxis and street-hail services, most of whom are seniors, tourists and people without ride-hailing apps.

The authorities recently announced moves, as part of a review of the point-to-point transport sector, to arrest the decline in Singapore's taxi fleet.

Regulations will be adjusted to lower operating costs for operators, including extending the statutory lifespan of non-electric cabs from eight to 10 years.

This comes as Singapore's pool of taxis and the proportion of streethail rides when a taxi is flagged down on the streets or hired at taxi stands have tumbled.

Only 12.3 per cent of point-topoint journeys in January 2024 were street-hail trips, compared with 22.4 per cent in January 2021, according to the latest Land Transport Authority statistics. The rest were ride-hail trips made via app or call bookings.

In January 2024, there were 74,000 street-hail trips daily on average, a fraction of the 527,000 ride-hail journeys. There were 13,485 taxis in that month, a decline from 15,888 taxis in January 2021.

While the proportion of streethail rides has fallen, taxis and street-hail services remain important, Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor said during a debate on the Ministry of Transport's budget on March 5.