SINGAPORE - For Ms Kuan (not her real name) and her husband, making day trips across the border to indulge in good food and pampering treatments is a cherished ritual. When travelling as a couple, they would simply hop on the Causeway Link bus, which takes them from the Queen Street Bus Terminal to Malaysia’s Causeway checkpoint in Johor Bahru...
During recent visits to the Ban San Street Terminal, ST saw a long line of licensed taxis idling in wait for business.SINGAPORE - For Ms Kuan and her husband, making day trips across the border to indulge in good food and pampering treatments is a cherished ritual.
Ms Kuan paid $300 for 12 hours of point-to-point service. It was not the most wallet-friendly option, but she had no complaints. “My baby cannot walk yet,” said the manager in her 30s. “We need this service since we don’t have our own car.” Only Singapore and Malaysia-registered taxis approved by LTA and Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency are authorised to provide cross-border rides. Besides the PSVL, Malaysia-registered taxis must also have an Asean Public Service Vehicle Permit, LTA said.
Transport engineering consultant Gopinath Menon felt it would be beneficial to allow a new regulated private vehicle hire service between Johor and Singapore since there is a constant flow of people across the border. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI Several Facebook pages, Telegram groups, websites and over 20 listings on e-commerce platform Carousell continue to tout cross-border chauffeur services targeting travellers from Singapore. PHOTO: CARPOOL SINGAPORE TO JB/FACEBOOK
Passengers waiting for cross-border taxis at the Larkin Sentral Terminal in Johor Bahru. PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK LTA said Singapore and Malaysia are each allowed to have 200 cross-border taxis. Currently, close to 300 taxis are offering cross-border rides. Licensed taxi drivers have long urged the authorities to crack down on illegal drivers, who have an unfair advantage as they are not obliged to pay for licences, memberships, full insurance coverage, mandatory vehicle inspection and taxes.
“I’m choosing an easier way to make a living,” he said. “Furthermore, our customers choose our services because we are able to provide door-to-door pick-ups and drop-offs.” Back then, some MPs had even proposed for regulations against the “pirates” to be relaxed - as they were providing a widely valued service to the community at a time when licensed taxis and public buses could not meet the demand.
Veteran transport engineering consultant Gopinath Menon also felt it would be beneficial to allow a new regulated private vehicle hire service between Johor and Singapore since there is a constant flow of people across the border. Google said it has taken action on the ads reported by LTA. Similarly, Carousell said it has promptly removed non-compliant listings, and urged users to report such listings.
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