Skip to main content

Coronavirus: Singapore issues taxi health guidance

The coronavirus outbreak has prompted Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) to issue guidance safeguarding taxi and private hire car drivers and their passengers.
By Ben Spencer March 2, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Singapore is issuing masks to protect taxi drivers and their passengers (© Mwphoto55 | Dreamstime.com)

The LTA is advising drivers to wind down the windows of their vehicles when ferrying passengers with flu-like symptoms – and after every completed trip to improve ventilation. 

They are also urging drivers to take their own temperature twice a day and see a doctor if they are feeling unwell.

Taxi operators are now setting up temperature screening stations. Taxi drivers whose temperature falls within the acceptable range will receive a sticker for the day to indicate they have been checked. 

Private hire operators will require drivers to submit their temperature readings via a mobile app. The LTA, National Taxi Association and National Private Hire Vehicles Association will set up island-wide temperature taking stations.

The LTA is also recommending that passengers wear a mask before taking a taxi or private hire ride. Singapore’s government is making 300,000 surgical masks available for drivers to offer passengers who need to reach a medical appointment but do not have their own mask.

The outbreak of coronavirus has also led to the postponement of the 2020 Connected Auto & Smart Transport Expo which was due to go ahead in China this June - as well as the World Tunnel Congress in Malaysia.

Related Content

  • Oxbotica gets $47m AV development boost
    January 8, 2021
    Investment round will accelerate deployment of autonomy software platform, firm says
  • Crash course in workzone safety
    April 26, 2021
    A vehicle crashing through a workzone is an ever-present risk. As US National Work Zone Awareness Week approaches, Alan Dron asks what chance there is of improving the situation
  • Moovit mines Sydney's Opal upgrade
    June 24, 2022
    Travel improvements in Australian city are part of wider investment by state government
  • Quantum XYZ intends to launch air taxi service in Los Angeles
    December 4, 2018
    Quantum XYZ is seeking to use SureFly’s eight-rotor hybrid ‘octocopters’ to launch an air taxi service in Los Angeles. SureFly, a subsidiary of US technology company Workhorse, is currently pursuing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Quantum intends to submit an application to become a FAA-certified urban VTOL air carrier. The company’s president, Tony Thompson, says: “Once SureFly receives FAA Type certification, we