Singapore's cabbies, private-hire drivers to get extra S$133m in Covid-19 support

TAXI and private-hire car (PHC) drivers are set to get an additional S$133 million in payouts from January onwards amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This falls under the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund, on top of the S$55 million previously committed towards the Special Relief Fund (SRF), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Wednesday.

Under the new scheme, drivers will receive S$600 per vehicle per month from January to March next year, and S$450 each month from April to June.

About 52,000 drivers who are eligible for the SRF will be automatically transitioned to the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund from January 2021.

The new fund will replace the existing SRF, which started in February and helps drivers defray business costs by providing monthly payouts of S$300 per vehicle per month (or S$10 per day).

Eligible drivers would have also received S$3,000 each in May, July and October under the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS), announced as part of the Resilience Budget in March this year.

LTA noted that the new scheme would help to moderate the impact from the cessation of the SIRS in January.

Those who receive payouts under the new fund will not be eligible for the Covid-19 Recovery Grant, announced by the Ministry of Social and Family Development on Wednesday.

"Despite the improving Covid-19 situation in Singapore, taxi and PHC ridership remains lower than pre-Covid levels as tourism activities remain muted and many employees are still working from home," LTA said.

"Covid-19 has also changed commuting patterns, with shorter taxi and PHC trips which result in lower fares per trip."

The authority added that it has been monitoring the situation closely, in particular the concerns among drivers over their incomes and livelihoods.