Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan has revealed that a hefty 33.4 per cent of Taxi Driver’s Vocational Licence (TDVL) holders are senior citizens between the ages of 60 and 74 while nearly 60 per cent of TDVL holders are between the ages of 40, and 59.
Khaw released these figures as he responded to a parliamentary question by fellow ruling party MP Ang Kin Hee.
Ang, an Ang Mo Kio GRC MP who serves as executive advisor to the National Taxi Association and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association, had asked Khaw whether he could “provide a breakdown of the current number of taxi drivers and private hire drivers by their respective age groups.”
In a written parliamentary response released by the transport ministry, Khaw replied: “As of February 2019, there are about 41,000 and 99,900 Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence (PDVL) holders and Taxi Driver’s Vocational Licence (TDVL) holders respectively. The age breakdown is shown in the table below.”
The figures the minister released shows that the vast majority (92.4 per cent) of TDVL holders are above the age of 40. Most (47.1 per cent) PDVL holders are between the ages of 40 and 59 while a sizeable chunk (44.4 per cent) of PDVL holders are younger, between the ages of 20, and 39.