What is the penalty for overcharging?
Under the Public Transport Act, a person who is convicted of overcharging will face a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.
What can a driver do if he/she is in danger of being assaulted by a fare evader, or when a fare evader flees from the taxi/PHC?
For their own safety, drivers are advised not to pursue the fare evader. Instead, the driver should lodge a non-payment of fare report with his/her operator.
If drivers perceive an immediate risk to their safety:Taxi drivers can activate the panic button installed in the taxi to alert the taxi company's call centre. The taxi company's call centre will be able to identify the location of the taxi through the GPS system, and alert other taxi drivers in the vicinity and police if further assistance is required.
PHC drivers can activate the emergency call feature on their ride-hail operator's mobile application or call the police directly for assistance.
What is the penalty for fare evasion?
Under the Public Transport Council Act, a person who is convicted for the offence of evading street-hail or ride-hail fare is liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000. A repeat offender is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.What should a driver do in the event that he/she encounters a fare evader?
Where possible, the driver should try to retain passenger and trip details (e.g. pick-up and drop-off points, further details provided to the driver through the booking such as passenger's name and phone number) and lodge the fare evasion case with his/her operator.
As a first step, the operator will attempt to contact the passenger to recover the fare, and thereafter reimburse the fare paid to the driver. If the outstanding fare remains unpaid and the passenger's identity can be established, the operator can refer the case to LTA and PTC for investigations.
The driver may also call the police for assistance or drive the passenger to the nearest Police Station, Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) or Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP). After lodging the police report, the driver can refer the case directly to LTA for investigation.
What types of overcharging can PTC enforce against under the new framework? How will PTC enforce against overcharging by P2P drivers?
PTC will work with LTA to investigate complaints of overcharging by drivers and statutory action will be taken against the offenders if investigations find them to be liable.