One's curse is another's blessing.
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Taxi! Upturn in fortunes for sector with Uber's exit
More cabs are being hired out and number of taxi driver's licences issued registers three-year high
The taxi sector is continuing to experience an upturn following Uber's exit from the market, with more cabs being hired out and the number of taxi driver's vocational licences (TDVLs) issued hitting a three-year high.
The increasing popularity of private-hire car firms Grab and Uber over the past two years saw the taxi sector take a hit, with cab numbers dropping from almost 28,800 in 2015 to 21, 436 currently.
However, Uber's announcement in March that it was exiting the South-east Asian market seems to have marked a change in fortunes.
Figures provided to The Sunday Times by the Land Transport Authority show only 9 per cent of Singapore's taxi population was unhired in April, down from 12.5 per cent in January.
Last year, the average unhired rate was 10.6 per cent.
ComfortDelGro group corporate communications officer Tammy Tan said its fleet of over 12,600 taxis was "almost fully hired out", though she declined to elaborate, citing reasons of competition.
Premier Taxis - which operates more than 2,000 taxis - also said it had seen an increase in the number of its taxis being hired out in the last few months.
April also saw 410 TDVLs issued - the highest number in a single month since December 2015.
This is a fourfold increase from the same period last year, when just 110 were issued.
Last September, the number of licences issued was just 69 - the lowest in more than a decade.
Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport deputy chairman Ang Hin Kee said one reason for the increase could be private-hire car drivers crossing over to taxis.
"It is likely some who drive private-hire cars find business tough," said Mr Ang, who is also executive adviser to both the taxi and private-hire vehicle associations.
He pointed to an "excessive" number of private-hire cars and drivers on the roads, as well as a decline in driver incentives.
The fact that private-hire car drivers, unlike cabbies, cannot claim costs such as fuel and vehicle rental fees as tax-deductible expenses could be a factor, he added.
While there is a separate private-hire car driver's vocational licence, the TDVL allows drivers to drive both taxis and private-hire cars. This makes the taxi licence more "portable" between the two industries, he said.
Some commuters are also switching back to taxis - citing fewer discounts and difficulty in booking rides on Grab as reasons - with taxi operators also reporting increased bookings.
ComfortDelGro reported earlier this month that its bookings have grown in the first five months of this year, while a spokesman for Premier Taxis said its call centre has seen "increased activity".
Technology sales manager and cab user Landis Fan said Grab fares are higher following Uber's departure, making taxis a more attractive option.
The 29-year-old said: "For a night out, for example, there is an 80 per cent chance that I will jump in a cab than get a Grab."
Last month, the taxi giant called a tender for the supply of 500 cabs, just a week after announcing it had purchased 200 new cabs.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/taxi-upturn-in-fortunes-for-sector-with-ubers-exit