Taxi license in Hong Kong can be traded in the open market
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SINGAPORE - Many cities around the world regulate their taxi industries to ensure cabs fulfil their role as a bridge between public and private transport.
Many actually limit taxi supply by issuing licences. In Hong Kong and New York for instance, licences are traded in the open market. City regulators also set service standards. In London, would-be cabbies need to study for a stringent exam, which typically takes two to four years to pass.
In New York, fleet owners must ensure their cabs are on two nine-hour shifts per day, while in Dubai, taxi franchises must ensure that 93 per cent of cabs are available during peak hours.
In Singapore, the taxi industry went from being unregulated before 1970 - where non-metered "pirate taxis" roamed - to a tightly regulated one.
Union-based NTUC Comfort was formed in 1970 to rein in an unruly trade that compromised the safety of commuters and other road users.
By the 1990s, two other smaller players emerged: ST Automotive's CityCab and Mr Ng Ser Miang's Tibs.
NTUC Comfort became Comfort Group and eventually ComfortDelGro. It also bought a share in CityCab. Tibs was bought over by SMRT.
In 1998, taxi fares were deregulated. In 2003, the industry was liberalised, and the size - and variety - of taxi companies were no longer restricted.
This year, after a 47 per cent surge in the taxi population, the Government is capping the growth rate once again.
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maybe should suggest to member of parliament to let us trade taxi license too, just like COE
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Yah, let us own our own taxis. Then u see will have taxi shortaage problem or not lor.....