SINGAPORE: The enforcement to crack down on cross-border ride-hailing services from Malaysia will continue to ensure passenger safety and protect the interest of licensed drivers in Singapore.

The Ministry of Transport of Singapore reiterated that no decision was made during the previous discussions between Singapore and Malaysia on cross-border ride services.

In a statement, the Ministry of Transport of Singapore responded to remarks made by Anthony Loke, Transport Minister of Malaysia who expressed hope to implement cross-border ride-hailing services between the two countries.

A spokesperson for the Singapore MOT told Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao that while the issue of allowing cross-border ride-hailing services was raised during earlier meetings between Singapore and Malaysian officials, no decision was reached at the time.

The spokesperson pointed out that the MOT is exploring ways to improve cross-border taxi services to meet passengers’ demand for more convenient point-to-point cross-border services.

He stated that it is illegal for Malaysian-registered private cars or ride-hailing vehicles to provide ride-hailing or cross-border services in Singapore.

All vehicles, including foreign-registered ones, must hold a Singapore Public Service Vehicle License to transport passengers.

The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) also emphasized that it will continue to enforce the law to combat illegal point-to-point services.

Meanwhile, local e-hailing drivers join enforcement in crackdown by reporting Malaysia-registered vehicles to LTA.

Shin Min Daily News, another Chinese daily in Singapore, reported that an e-hailing driver by the name of Boon took video of a Malaysia-registered multi-purpose vehicle outside the arrival hall of Changi Airport Terminal 3 on August 16.

The video taken by Boon showed the driver assisted passengers to move the luggage into the vehicle.

“Many tourists opt for e-hailing rides from Malaysia as they charge lower fares and tourists are not familiar with the regulations,” he said.

Lim, 50, another e-hailing driver in Singapore, said drivers sent photographs to a Facebook group whenever they spotted Malaysia-registered multi-purpose vehicles at tourist spots.

“I normally suggest the drivers to report to LTA,” he said.

Lim said there are several ways to detect the e-hailing services offered by Malaysians, by the car registration number and the interactions between passengers and drivers.

Some Malaysian drivers opted to change to smaller vehicles to continue with illegal e-hailing rides in Singapore, said Huang, another Singapore e-hailing driver.

“They do not drive luxury cars and it can be difficult to detect them,” he said.

Since 2022, LTA has confiscated 136 foreign-registered vehicles offering cross-border e-hailing rides.

LTA said such drivers face a maximum fine of S$2,600 (RM8,538) and the vehicles would be confiscated.