Did you even know that there are bike taxi services that offer rides from one point to another in Singapore? One Facebook user alerted us to these secret SG bike taxi service groups on Facebook and Telegram that have been gaining traction recently.
Is this even legal in Singapore, and can we provide private hire service to passengers without valid licences and insurance coverage?
“Really hope LTA can once and for all ensure that this loophole is closed before lives are lost and use this period to eradicate all these ‘wild west’ behaviours.” — Netizen
A quick check on LTA (Land Transport Authority) shows that private car drivers need to have proper permits to ferry people around. However, carpooling is legal, and these services may not come under the ambit of private car hire services.
According to a report in ST, the emergence of such carpooling services on Telegram may be indicative of the rise in the cost of Grab and other ride-hailing services.
However, the problem with the service as highlighted by the Netizen is that there are no proper safeguards and protection for both the driver and the passengers. There is no proper contact tracing and passengers often take the front seat like they are riding shotgun.
We did a quick check and found several groups in Telegram offering such services.
SG Bike Taxi Free is a Telegram group with over 4000 members. It looks like a member-driven initiative.
SG Hitch Bike has about 40k members and SG Hitch has about 72k members.
Fares are worked out between the individual drivers and riders, and drivers do not have to pay a commission.
Carpooling is legal within Singapore but drivers can collect only enough to cover the cost of a trip. In addition, they cannot offer more than two trips a day.
Offenders may receive a fine of up to $3,000, a jail term of up to six months, or both, if they break the law.
Carpooling was popular in the 70s and 80s, with the government encouraging cars to enter CBD with at least three passengers to minimize traffic and congestion. This scheme is later replaced by the current Electronic Road Pricing. /TISG