LTA to Make Changes to Taxi Allotment in COE System

LTA will make changes to how taxis obtain their COEs, taking into consideration recent COE trends and feedback from both the public and the motor industry about the influence that taxi operators may have
on COE prices.

First, taxis will be taken out of the COE bidding process from August 2012. They will pay for COEs based on the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP) of CAT A under the Vehicle Quota System (VQS). This is irrespective of whether the new taxis are intended to replace deregistered taxis or to add to the existing fleets.

Allowing taxis to pay the CAT A PQP maintains a concession given to taxis as they play a public transport role.


Secondly, the COEs used for taxi fleet expansion will be extracted from the Open Category (CAT E), which can be used to register vehicles in any COE category. This is more reflective of the role of taxis in our public transport system and it is more equitable to use CAT E quotas that are contributed by all vehicle types, rather than drawing solely from CAT A quotas. This also reflects the current situation in which taxi companies register a variety of vehicles as taxis, including both CAT A and CAT B models as well as some minibus models.

LTA will finalise the details and provide information on the COE related changes in early August, before the start of the next COE bidding cycle. It will provide details on the taxi availability standards in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The COE quotas already announced for the next 6 months (August 2012 to January 2013) will not be affected.

Credits: wilswong