Around 100 Strides Premier electric taxis spotted sitting idle in a carpark

They have valid road tax and comprise about a fifth of all electric cabs in Singapore

- Lee Nian Tjoe

A fleet of around 100 Strides Premier electric taxis is sitting idle in a multi-storey carpark in Tampines Street 92.

The dust covering their windscreens suggests they have been parked there for some time.

These taxis comprise about one-fifth of all electric cabs in Singapore.

They are still road-registered and have valid road tax, according to checks conducted by The Sunday Times using a sample of 48 vehicle registration numbers taken from the fleet.

ST first spotted the cabs in the carpark at the start of February. They were still there when ST made three more visits to the carpark in the same month, most recently on the evening of Feb 28.

Strides Premier did not respond to queries on why the taxis are parked there, or how many of its electric taxis are in use.

There were 502 electric taxis registered in Singapore as at Jan 31, based on statistics from the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

On its website, Strides Premier offers six taxi models – the electric MG5 and five petrol-hybrid ones from Hyundai, Kia and Toyota.

While Mr Charles Ban is happy with his MG5, which he has been driving since August 2021, he said the need to charge an electric taxi in the middle of a shift may not suit the driving habits of other taxi drivers.