The LTA has announced that it is setting aside an additional $27 million to aid Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) and taxi drivers as Singapore moves into the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).
This $27 million will translate into an additional $10 per vehicle per day top-up through the COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund (CDRF) from 16 May 2021 to end June 2021.
This is in addition to the $188 million which the Government had already committed for CDRF payments from January to June 2021.
In total, drivers will receive $25 per vehicle per day, up from the existing $15 per vehicle per day. This works out to be $750 per vehicle per month until the end of June.
All taxi and PHC drivers who are eligible for the CDRF will automatically receive the top-up through their operators.
ComfortDelgro had earlier announced a 50% rental waiver for its drivers and other taxi operators have also committed to provide additional rental discounts of at least $5/day above their current commitment of $10/day to their drivers.
In total, taxi operators have pledged around $28 million in additional taxi rental discount. GoJek has also reduced commissions for its drivers. Operators will be releasing details of their assistance to their drivers.
The LTA states that the Government is also looking into a further extension to the CDRF beyond the current tranche ending in end June 2021. More details will be released in due course.