Division 5 — Road Traffic Act
Consequential amendments to Road Traffic Act
61.  Section 2(1) of the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276, 2004 Ed.) is amended —
(a)by inserting, immediately after the definition of “driving licence”, the following definition:
“ “exempt ride‑hail service operator” has the meaning given by the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;”;
(b)by inserting, immediately after the definition of “motor vehicle”, the following definitions:
“ “on‑demand passenger transport service” and “on‑demand ride booking service” have the meanings given by the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;”;
(c)by inserting, immediately after the definition of “replacement vehicle”, the following definition:
“ “ride‑hail service” has the meaning given by the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;”; and
(d)by inserting, immediately after the definition of “security officer”, the following definitions:
“ “street‑hail service” has the meaning given by the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;
“street‑hail service licence” means a street‑hail service licence granted under the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019 to provide a street‑hail service;
“street‑hail service licensee” means a person to whom a street‑hail service licence is granted (on renewal or otherwise) or deemed granted under the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;”.
Related amendments about public service vehicles
62.  The Road Traffic Act is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “motor vehicle, or cause or permit a motor vehicle to be used,” in section 101(1) and substituting the words “motor vehicle which is not a proscribed vehicle, or cause or permit a motor vehicle which is not a proscribed vehicle to be used,”;
(b)by deleting the words “motor vehicle that” in section 101(1A) and substituting the words “motor car that”;
(c)by deleting the words “a ride-sourcing service (within the meaning of section 110A)” in section 101(1A)(a) and substituting the words “an on‑demand passenger transport service”;
(d)by deleting paragraph (b) of section 101(1A) and substituting the following paragraph:
(b)is immediately available to a provider of a ride‑hail service to take or facilitate the taking of bookings for an on‑demand passenger transport service provided using that vehicle (whether immediately or at a later time).”;
(e)by inserting, immediately after the words “under this Act” in section 101(4), the words “and the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019”;
(f)by inserting, immediately after subsection (9) of section 101, the following subsections:
(10)  For the purposes of this section, a proscribed vehicle means a vehicle of the construction, type or description or a class of vehicles declared by the Minister, by order in the Gazette, to be proscribed and not likewise declared, by subsequent order in the Gazette, to be not proscribed.
(11)  An order made under subsection (10) by the Minister may contain such saving, transitional, and other consequential, incidental and supplemental provisions as the Minister considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Part.
(12)  A person commits an offence if a person uses or causes or permits a proscribed vehicle to be used as a public service vehicle.
(13)  A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (12) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.”; and
(g)by inserting, immediately after paragraph (a) of section 108, the following paragraph:
(aa)the vehicle in respect of which the licence is issued is proscribed under section 101(10);”.
Related amendments about taxi service operators
63.—(1)  Section 103 of the Road Traffic Act is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “taxi service operator” wherever they appear in subsections (3) and (4) and substituting in each case the words “street‑hail service licensee”;
(b)by deleting the words “that operator” in subsection (3) and substituting the words “that licensee”;
(c)by deleting the definition of “service standard condition” in subsection (6) and substituting the following definition:
“ “service standard condition” means a code of practice about performance standards relating to the provision of street‑hail services and the quality of other aspects of the provision of a street‑hail service under the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;”;
(d)by deleting the semi‑colon at the end of the definition of “taxi licence” in subsection (6) and substituting a full‑stop; and
(e)by deleting the definition of “taxi service operator” in subsection (6).
(2)  Part VA of the Road Traffic Act is amended —
(a)by inserting, immediately after subsection (4) of section 111C, the following subsection:
(5)  Starting on the date of commencement of section 12 of the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019, this section ceases to apply to and in relation to any person who operates a taxi service on or after that date without a taxi service operator licence and is not exempt from section 111B by virtue of section 142.”;
(b)by inserting, immediately after subsection (2) of section 111D, the following subsection:
(3)  Starting on the date of commencement of section 12 of the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019, this section ceases to apply to and in relation to any person who operates a taxi service on or after that date without a taxi service operator licence and is not exempt from section 111B by virtue of section 142.”; and
(c)by inserting, immediately after subsection (2) of section 111E, the following subsection:
(2A)  Starting on the date of commencement of section 12 of the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019, subsections (1) and (2) cease to apply to and in relation to any person who operates a taxi service on or after that date without a taxi service operator licence and is not exempt from section 111B by virtue of section 142.”.
(3)  The Road Traffic Act, as amended by subsection (2), is further amended by repealing Part VA of that Act.
Related amendment about fares of public service vehicles
64.  Section 106 of the Road Traffic Act is amended by deleting subsection (6) and substituting the following subsection:
(6)  This section does not apply to omnibuses, taxis and private hire cars to the extent that fares for the provision of bus services and ride‑hail services and street‑hail services using such vehicles are regulated by or under the Public Transport Council Act (Cap. 259B).”.
Related amendments about private hire car booking service operators
65.—(1)  Section 110A of the Road Traffic Act is amended —
(a)by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection:
(1)  The Registrar may in the circumstances in subsection (2), by a general suspension order served on persons mentioned in subsection (3), direct that every bookable vehicle driver who is a participating bookable driver of the same designated exempt ride‑hail service operator stop providing, during a blackout period, on‑demand passenger transport services the booking of which is taken or facilitated by that designated exempt ride‑hail service operator.”;
(b)by deleting the words “affiliated drivers” in subsection (2)(a) and (b) and in the section heading and substituting in each case the words “participating bookable drivers”;
(c)by deleting the words “private hire car booking service operator” wherever they appear in subsections (2), (3) and (4) and substituting in each case the words “designated exempt ride‑hail service operator”;
(d)by deleting the words “an affiliated driver” in subsection (2)(a) and (b) and substituting in each case the words “a participating bookable driver”;
(e)by deleting the words “affiliated driver” in subsection (3)(a) and substituting the words “participating bookable driver”;
(f)by deleting subsection (9) and substituting the following subsection:
(9)  A participating bookable driver of a designated exempt ride‑hail service operator who —
(a)is in the class of participating bookable drivers served with a general suspension order (in accordance with subsection (7)) directing him to stop providing any on‑demand passenger transport service the booking of which is taken or facilitated by that designated exempt ride‑hail service operator; and
(b)provides any on‑demand passenger transport service the booking of which is taken or facilitated by that designated exempt ride‑hail service operator during the blackout period for that general suspension order,
shall be guilty of an offence.”; and
(g)by deleting “(2)” in subsection (10) and substituting “(9)”.
(2)  Section 110B of the Road Traffic Act is amended —
(a)by deleting the definitions of “affiliated driver”, “affiliated driver agreement”, “bookable vehicle driver” and “ride‑sourcing service”;
(b)by deleting the definition of “bookable vehicle” and substituting the following definition:
“ “bookable vehicle” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;”;
(c)by deleting the definition of “private hire car booking service operator” and substituting the following definitions:
“ “designated exempt ride‑hail service operator” means a person who is an exempt ride‑hail service operator and is prescribed by rules under section 111 to be designated by the Authority for the purposes of this definition;
“participating bookable driver”, for a designated exempt ride‑hail service operator, means a driver who has a participating driver agreement with the operator, and it is immaterial whether the driver is an employee or agent of the designated exempt ride‑hail service operator;
“participating driver agreement”, in relation to a designated exempt ride‑hail service operator providing a ride‑hail service, means an agreement or arrangement between the designated exempt ride‑hail service operator and a driver of a bookable vehicle under which —
(a)the designated exempt ride‑hail service operator agrees to —
(i)take or facilitate any booking by or on behalf of a passenger for bookable vehicles to be made available in providing on‑demand passenger transport services (whether immediately or at a later time) to the passenger; and
(ii)communicate the booking to participating bookable drivers; and
(b)the driver agrees to carry out the on‑demand passenger transport service in the booking by transporting the passenger for hire or reward, using a bookable vehicle,
and it does not matter whether or not the driver is an employee or agent of the designated exempt ride-hail service operator providing the ride-hail service or whether the vehicle is hired from that operator;”; and
(d)by deleting the semi-colon at the end of the definition of “relevant offence” and substituting a full‑stop.
(3)  Section 111 of the Road Traffic Act is amended by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection:
(2)  Any rules made under subsection (1) may provide that any contravention of any provision of the rules shall be an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding $10,000.”.
Related amendments on autonomous motor vehicles
66.  Section 6D of the Road Traffic Act is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “other written law” in subsection (1)(a) and (b) and substituting in each case the words “other applicable written law”; and
(b)by inserting, immediately after subsection (4), the following subsection:
(5)  In this section, “other applicable written law” means —
(a)the Bus Services Industry Act 2015;
(b)the Motor Vehicles (Third‑Party Risks and Compensation) Act (Cap. 189);
(c)the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019; or
(d)the Public Transport Council Act (Cap. 259B).”.