A LICENSED taxi driver operating out of the Larkin Sentral Terminal in Johor Baru claims that Malaysian cross-border taxis are now permitted to drop off passengers at any location in Singapore as of this month.
Speaking to StarMetro, the driver said that he was notified of this development by an officer from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority.
“The officer said that starting April 1, taxi drivers are allowed to drop passengers from the Larkin Terminal anywhere in Singapore,” he said.
He added that the same thing applied to their Singaporean counterparts, who could ferry their passengers from the Ban San Street Taxi Stand to anywhere in Johor Baru.
Malaysia-registered taxis entering Singapore, he said, must instal the new Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) 2.0 on-board units as trackers to ensure taxis are licensed.
“This is to prevent non-taxis from performing illegal, non-cross-border point-to-point trips within Singapore,” he said.
It was previously reported that Malaysia and Singapore were updating their cross-border taxi rules to allow drivers to drop off passengers anywhere in their destination country. An official announcement is expected on the matter soon.
Another driver interviewed said there was a possibility drivers would be allowed to pick up passengers via bookings at other pick-up points apart from Larkin and Ban San Street in the future.
“The new ruling is good for us as we can now even send passengers from Johor Baru who are catching flights from Singapore’s Changi Airport,” he said.
He added that the fare for the cross-border taxi services would most probably be increased due to rising operational costs, as the last major hike was in July 2022.
Current cross-border taxi services are RM120 from Larkin Sentral to Singapore and S$60 (RM188) from Singapore to Johor Baru.
Presently, only Singapore-registered taxis plying the route are allowed to ferry passengers from Larkin Sentral Terminal to other parts of Singapore.
Malaysian taxis are only allowed to bring passengers from the terminal to the Ban San Street Taxi Stand in Singapore, near the Queen Street Bus Terminal.
Only taxis registered in Singapore and Malaysia and approved by both countries’ authorities are permitted to offer cross-border services, with designated pick-up and drop-off locations.
In addition to a valid Public Service Vehicle Licence (PSVL), Singapore requires Malaysia-registered taxis to hold an Asean Public Service Vehicle Permit.
