PART 5
BUSINESS OPERATION REQUIREMENTS
Division 1 — Management controls and record keeping
Change in management of licensee
27.—(1)  It is a condition of every licence that the licensee to whom the licence is granted must notify the LTA of, where the licensee is a corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership or an unincorporated association —
(a)the resignation or removal of any officer of the corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership or unincorporated association (as the case may be) within the prescribed period after the date of resignation or removal, as the case may be; or
(b)the death of any of its officers within the prescribed period after the date the licensee becomes aware of that death.
(2)  To avoid doubt, this section applies even though a licence is suspended pursuant to section 35.
Accounts and statements
28.—(1)  Subject to subsection (4), a licensee holding a street‑hail service licence or ride‑hail service licence must —
(a)in respect of the whole or part (as the case may be) of every financial year, prepare such accounts and statements as are specified in, or ascertained in accordance with, the Regulations;
(b)retain the accounts and statements prepared in accordance with paragraph (a) for 5 years after the end of the period to which they relate;
(c)within the prescribed period after the close of a financial year of the licensee, give to the LTA those accounts and statements duly audited by an auditor approved by the LTA; and
(d)keep and retain records, where the records are relevant to the preparation of the accounts and statements of the licensee mentioned in paragraph (a), for such period and in such manner as prescribed in the Regulations.
(2)  A licensee must not prepare any such accounts or statements in such a way that they do not correctly record and explain the matters or things to which they relate.
(3)  A person —
(a)who is subject to any requirement under subsection (1) or (2); and
(b)who intentionally or negligently contravenes the requirement,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
(4)  The LTA may on application waive any requirement under subsection (1) in any particular case.
(5)  Regulations may be made to vary the period mentioned in subsection (1)(b).
Record keeping and giving information
29.—(1)  A licensee of a street‑hail service licence must —
(a)keep and retain, for such period as may be prescribed, records, where the records are relevant to monitoring or evaluating, under this Act, an aspect of the street‑hail service as specified in the licence; and
(b)give to the LTA, within the period and in the manner specified in the licence, information that is relevant to monitoring or evaluating, under this Act, an aspect of the street‑hail service as specified in the licence.
(2)  A licensee of a ride‑hail service licence must, with respect to any ride‑hail service provided by the licensee —
(a)keep and retain, for such period as may be prescribed, records, where the records are relevant to monitoring or evaluating, under this Act, an aspect of the ride‑hail service as specified in the licence; and
(b)give to the LTA, within the period and in the manner specified in the licence, information that is relevant to monitoring or evaluating, under this Act, an aspect of the ride‑hail service as specified in the licence.
(3)  An exempt ride‑hail service operator providing a ride‑hail service to which an exempt ride‑hail operator order applies must —
(a)keep and retain, for such period as may be prescribed, records, where the records are relevant to monitoring or evaluating, under this Act, an aspect of the ride‑hail service as specified in the order; and
(b)give to the LTA, within the period and in the manner prescribed, information that is relevant to monitoring or evaluating, under this Act, an aspect of the ride‑hail service as specified in the order.
(4)  A person who is subject to a requirement under subsection (1), (2) or (3) to keep and retain or give any record or information commits an offence if the person —
(a)intentionally or negligently contravenes the requirement under subsection (1), (2) or (3) to keep and retain or give;
(b)intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any record or information which the person is required under subsection (1), (2) or (3) to keep, retain or give; or
(c)who, in keeping, retaining or giving the record or information required under subsection (1), (2) or (3), makes any statement which the person knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes such a statement.
(5)  A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (4) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
Division 2 — Codes of practice and Directions
Codes of practice for licensees
30.—(1)  The LTA may, from time to time —
(a)issue one or more codes of practice applicable to licensees or specified types of licensees;
(b)approve as a code of practice applicable to licensees or specified types of licensees any document prepared by a person other than the LTA if the LTA considers the document as suitable for this purpose; or
(c)amend or revoke any code of practice issued under paragraph (a) or approved under paragraph (b),
with respect to all or any of the matters in subsection (2) or (3), as the case may be.
(2)  In the case of a code of practice applicable to a licensee holding a street‑hail service licence, the matters for the purposes of subsection (1) include any of the following:
(a)the condition, maintenance, construction, use and deployment of the taxis owned or made available by the licensee in providing the street‑hail service;
(b)measures directed towards ensuring the security and safety of any of the following:
(i)passengers of taxis used in the provision of the street‑hail service;
(ii)related drivers of the licensee while they are engaged in carrying out the street‑hail service;
(c)relating to the conduct of the employees and agents of the licensee, and individuals who are related drivers of the licensee, in connection with the provision of the street‑hail service;
(d)measures to deal with customer complaints and lost property found in taxis made available by the licensee in providing the street‑hail service, and the processes to handle and dispose of such complaints and property;
(e)measures to deal with relevant offences, safety incidents and accidents involving the following, and reporting to the LTA those safety incidents and accidents:
(i)taxis made available by the licensee to provide the street‑hail service;
(ii)related drivers of the licensee;
(f)measures to facilitate the access to, and use of, the street‑hail service by individuals with disabilities;
(g)advance reporting to the LTA of related drivers of the licensee and taxis withdrawn from engagement or use in providing the street‑hail service;
(h)measures necessary for licensees to deal with any plague, epidemic, fire, flood, earthquake or disaster (natural or otherwise) or any public emergency;
(i)performance standards relating to the provision of street‑hail services and the quality of other aspects of the provision of the street‑hail service, such as —
(i)minimum service levels determined according to such things as the specified periods of time during which the street‑hail service is to be provided, the extent of the service and the frequency of operation of that service during specified periods; and
(ii)performance outcomes for frequency, regularity, punctuality and accessibility of the street‑hail service, and of customer information and service;
(j)relating to the provision of estimates, publication and display of fares (including payment surcharges, and charges on transactions involving payment of a street‑hail fare) for or in connection with the provision of the street‑hail service, including the following:
(i)prepayment, collection, the requirements for receipts and the information to be included in receipts;
(ii)processes for calculating fares for the provision of street‑hail services, including the transparency and availability of those services;
(k)the advertising of street‑hail services and street‑hail fares;
(l)relating to the expansion of the street‑hail service by reference to a maximum rate of increase in the number of taxis that may be owned by a street‑hail service licensee during the validity period of the licence to provide the service or any other suitable factor;
(m)other performance standards relating to street‑hail services.
(3)  In the case of a code of practice applicable to a licensee holding a ride‑hail service licence, the matters for the purposes of subsection (1) include any of the following:
(a)the condition, maintenance, construction, use and deployment of the bookable vehicles made available through the ride‑hail service to carry out the on‑demand passenger transport service related to the ride‑hail service;
(b)measures directed towards ensuring the security and safety of any of the following:
(i)passengers of bookable vehicles made available through the ride‑hail service to carry out the on‑demand passenger transport service relating to the ride‑hail service;
(ii)participating bookable drivers of those bookable vehicles while they are engaged in carrying out the on‑demand passenger transport service relating to the ride‑hail service;
(c)relating to the conduct of the employees and agents of the licensee, and individuals who are participating bookable drivers of the licensee, in connection with the provision of the on‑demand passenger transport service related to the ride‑hail service;
(d)measures to deal with customer complaints and lost property found in bookable vehicles made available through the ride‑hail service, and the processes to handle and dispose of such complaints and property;
(e)measures to deal with relevant offences, safety incidents and accidents involving the following, and reporting to the LTA those safety incidents and accidents:
(i)bookable vehicles made available through the ride‑hail service to carry out the on‑demand passenger transport service related to the ride‑hail service;
(ii)participating bookable drivers of the licensee;
(f)measures to facilitate the access to, and use of, the ride‑hail service by individuals with disabilities;
(g)advance reporting to the LTA of participating bookable drivers of the licensee and bookable vehicles withdrawn from engagement or use in providing the on‑demand passenger transport service made available through the ride‑hail service;
(h)measures necessary for licensees to deal with any plague, epidemic, fire, flood, earthquake or disaster (natural or otherwise) or any public emergency;
(i)performance standards relating to the provision of ride‑hail services and the quality of other aspects of the provision of the ride‑hail service, such as —
(i)minimum service levels determined according to such things as the specified periods of time during which the ride‑hail service is to be provided, the extent of the service and the frequency of operation of that service during specified periods; and
(ii)performance outcomes for frequency, regularity, punctuality and accessibility of the ride‑hail service, and of customer information and service;
(j)relating to the provision of estimates, publication and display of fares (including payment surcharges, and charges on transactions involving payment of a ride‑hail fare) for or in connection with the provision of the ride‑hail service, including the following:
(i)prepayment, collection, the requirements for receipts and the information to be included in receipts;
(ii)processes for calculating fares for the provision of ride‑hail services, including the transparency and availability of those services;
(k)the advertising of ride‑hail services and ride‑hail fares;
(l)other performance standards relating to ride‑hail services.
(4)  A code of practice may, in particular, specify the duties and obligations of any licensee in relation to its business operation insofar as it relates to the provision of point‑to‑point passenger transport services in Singapore.
(5)  If any provision in any code of practice is inconsistent with any provision of this Act or the Regulations, that provision, to the extent of the inconsistency —
(a)is to have effect subject to this Act and the Regulations; or
(b)having regard to this Act and the Regulations, is not to have effect.
(6)  Where a code of practice is issued, approved, amended or revoked by the LTA under subsection (1), the LTA must —
(a)give notice of the issue, approval, amendment or revocation (as the case may be) of the code of practice to every licensee to whom the code of practice applies;
(b)specify in the notice mentioned in paragraph (a) the date of issue, approval, amendment or revocation, as the case may be; and
(c)ensure that, so long as the code of practice remains in force, copies of that code of practice, and of all amendments to that code of practice, are available for inspection, free of charge, by the licensees to whom the code of practice applies.
(7)  No code of practice, no amendment to such a code of practice, and no revocation of any such code of practice, has any force or effect until the notice relating to that is given in accordance with subsection (6).
(8)  A code of practice issued or approved under this section does not have legislative effect.
(9)  Subject to subsection (10), every licensee must comply with the codes of practice applicable to the licensee.
(10)  The LTA may, for such time as the LTA may specify, waive the application of any code of practice or part of a code of practice, issued or approved under this section to any particular licensee.
(11)  For the purposes of subsections (2)(e) and (3)(e), “relevant offence” means any of the following offences committed on or after the date of commencement of this section:
(a)an offence under the Road Traffic Act or any subsidiary legislation made under that Act;
(b)an offence under section 3 of the Motor Vehicles (Third‑Party Risks and Compensation) Act (Cap. 189);
(c)an offence under section 23 of the Public Transport Council Act;
(d)an offence under this Act or the Regulations.
Directions affecting licensees
31.—(1)  The LTA may give a direction to a licensee for or in respect of any matter affecting the interests of the public in connection with the point‑to‑point passenger transport service provided by the licensee, after considering the following matters with respect to all or any of the point‑to‑point passenger transport services provided in Singapore:
(a)the development of innovative and accessible point‑to‑point passenger transport services which contribute to the mobility and safety of people in Singapore;
(b)the arrangements between the licensees and the arrangements supporting the provision of point‑to‑point passenger transport services;
(c)the related driver agreements and participating driver agreements between authorised drivers and the respective licensees;
(d)the social impact of the direction;
(e)the impact of the direction on the use of other public passenger transport in Singapore;
(f)standards of quality, reliability and safety of those services (whether those standards are specified by legislation, licence conditions, agreement or otherwise);
(g)any other matter the LTA considers relevant having regard to the purposes of this Act.
(2)  A direction given under subsection (1) —
(a)may require the licensee concerned (according to the circumstances of the case) to do, or to refrain from doing, for a specified period, the things specified in the direction or the things that are of a description specified in the direction;
(b)takes effect at such time, being the earliest practicable time, as is determined by or under that direction; and
(c)may be revoked at any time by the LTA.
(3)  Without limiting subsection (2), a direction under subsection (1) so as to alleviate or minimise any risk of obstructing any measures taken to reduce the impact of any serious public passenger transport incident in Singapore or a part of Singapore, may require the licensee concerned to stop providing point‑to‑point passenger transport services specified in the direction to hirers in any part of Singapore, for a period not exceeding 24 hours, or any further periods not exceeding 24 hours each.
(4)  A direction under this section continues in force until the earlier of the following occurs:
(a)the expiry date (if any) stated in the direction is reached;
(b)the LTA revokes the direction.
(5)  Before exercising any power under subsection (1), the LTA must, unless the LTA in respect of any particular direction considers that it is not practicable or desirable, give written notice to the licensee concerned —
(a)stating that the LTA intends to give a direction to the licensee under this section and the nature of the direction; and
(b)specifying the time (being not less than 14 days after the date of service of the notice on the licensee) within which written representations may be made to the LTA with respect to the proposed direction.
(6)  The LTA may, after considering any written representation under subsection (5)(b), decide to give or not to give, or to modify, the direction as the LTA considers appropriate.
(7)  The LTA must serve on the licensee concerned a notice of its decision under subsection (6).
(8)  Every licensee must comply with every direction given under this section to the licensee as soon as it takes effect.
(9)  However, nothing in this section authorises the LTA to give any direction with regard to fares which are regulated by the PTC under the Public Transport Council Act.
(10)  In this section, “serious public passenger transport incident” includes any of the following:
(a)a stoppage or disruption of more than one regular route services (within the meaning of the Bus Services Industry Act 2015 (Act 30 of 2015)) in Singapore or any part of Singapore;
(b)a large‑scale disruption of services on one or more rapid transit systems within the meaning of the Rapid Transit Systems Act (Cap. 263A).
Division 3 — Emergency directives
Emergency directives
32.—(1)  Subject to subsection (2), the LTA may, and in accordance with subsections (3), (4), (5) and (6), give such emergency directives as may be necessary to alleviate or minimise any risk —
(a)of death of, or a serious injury to, any individual from the provision of any point‑to‑point passenger transport service; or
(b)of damage to any property from the provision of any point‑to‑point passenger transport service.
(2)  The LTA must not make any emergency directive unless it is impracticable in the circumstances of the particular case for the LTA to make or amend any Regulations to effectively alleviate or minimise the risk concerned.
(3)  The LTA may give an emergency directive made under this section to all or any of the following, individually or as a class:
(a)a licensee;
(b)an exempt ride‑hail service operator;
(c)a provider of a street‑hail service or ride‑hail service which is exempt from section 9(1) or 10(1) (as the case may be) by an order under section 52.
(4)  In making an emergency directive under this section, it is not necessary for the LTA to give any person who may be affected by the directive a chance to be heard before the directive is given.
(5)  An emergency directive may be in force for a period not exceeding 6 months unless earlier revoked under subsection (6), and may be renewed by the LTA once only for a further period not exceeding 6 months.
(6)  The LTA may, at any time when any emergency directive is in force, revoke the emergency directive by giving notice of that revocation in the same manner as the directive was given.
(7)  So far as any emergency directive is inconsistent with the Regulations, the emergency directive prevails.
How emergency directive is given
33.—(1)  An emergency directive is binding on the person or class of persons to whom it is addressed and given.
(2)  An emergency directive that is addressed to a person is sufficiently given if it is served in the manner prescribed in section 51.
(3)  An emergency directive that is addressed to a class of persons is sufficiently given if it is —
(a)served on each of the persons in the class in the manner prescribed in section 51; or
(b)published both —
(i)in a daily newspaper circulating in Singapore or in any other news media that, in the opinion of the LTA, is most likely to bring the emergency directive to the attention of the persons who belong to the class; and
(ii)on the LTA’s official website.
(4)  Once such an emergency directive is made and given under this section, the LTA must also publish the making of the directive in a manner that the LTA thinks will secure adequate publicity for the fact of making and giving of the emergency directive.
(5)  However, failure to publish an emergency directive under subsection (4) does not invalidate the directive.
(6)  An emergency directive that is given —
(a)in accordance with subsection (2) takes effect when it is served;
(b)in accordance with subsection (3)(a) takes effect when it is served on all the persons in the class in question; and
(c)in accordance with subsection (3)(b) takes effect at the beginning of the day after the date on which subsection (3)(b) has been complied with.
General duty to comply with emergency directives
34.—(1)  An emergency directive may require the person it binds (according to the circumstances of the case) to do, or to refrain from doing, for a specified period, the things specified in the directive or the things that are of a description specified in the directive, including stopping any point‑to‑point passenger transport service within any part of Singapore.
(2)  A person to whom an emergency directive is given and who is required by the directive to do, or to refrain from doing, for a specified period, the things specified in the directive or the things that are of a description specified in the directive, commits an offence if the person intentionally or negligently fails to comply with the directive.
(3)  A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (2) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.