Taxi and private-hire car drivers will receive an ยิงปลา slotxo additional S$30 million in support from the Government amid an expected decline in ridership during the month-long Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period, which began on Thursday (Jul 22).
The amount will go towards the COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund, set up in December last year to support drivers affected by the pandemic.
Announcing the move on Friday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said ridership is likely to take some time to recover after the relaxation of safe management measures, based on experience from the last heightened alert period from May to June this year.
In May, Transport Minister S Iswaran said that figures from the LTA showed that heightened COVID-19 restrictions then resulted in ridership for taxis and private-hire cars falling to about 55 per cent of what it was before the pandemic.
The fund currently provides drivers with S$10 per vehicle per day for 60 days from July this year, and S$5 per vehicle for the next 30 days after that.
The latest boost to the fund will see eligible drivers receiving an additional S$10 per vehicle per day from Jul 22 to Aug 31, and an extra S$5 per vehicle per day in September.
This is on top of the S$40 million which the Government had already committed for the three-month extension of the COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund announced on Jun 10, LTA said.
This brings the total amount set aside to support the taxi and private-hire sectors since February last year to S$482 million.