Informal carpooling not safe, campaign to raise awareness to be rolled out

A campaign to raise awareness of the allowed forms of carpooling — which do not include arrangements made on online chat groups — will be rolled out, Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor said in Parliament on March 6.

- Vanessa Paige Chelvan

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will work on the campaign with the taxi and private-hire vehicle driver associations, Dr Khor added in response to Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC).

Ms Yeo had asked whether the Ministry of Transport plans to raise public awareness of the allowed forms of carpooling.

Dr Khor added: "It is good to intensify our public education efforts, to raise awareness among the public that their safety is not protected if they actually go through these informal channels."

In Singapore, carpooling is allowed only through licensed business platforms such as GrabHitch, as well as other licence-exempt business platforms that have fleets of fewer than 800 vehicles.

People should not seek rides through informal channels, such as Telegram, Dr Khor said.

Unlike illegal carpooling services, licensed platforms can protect passengers' safety and offer them some safeguards, she added.