Allowing Private Hire Car and Taxi Drivers to Install Passenger Facing Video Recorders with Audio Functions
Ministry of TransportSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will allow taxi and private hire car drivers to install passenger-facing video recorders with audio to manage in-vehicle disputes. Ms Yeo Wan Ling raised this query, and Senior Minister of State Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan clarified that LTA has permitted such devices since 2019, provided they are installed at authorised centres. Regulations require secure storage, signage, and prior passenger notification, while prohibiting personal mobile phone recordings. Recordings are accessible only for official investigations, and drivers harassed by unauthorised passenger recordings may seek legal recourse under the Protection from Harassment Act. Both drivers and commuters are encouraged to treat each other with respect to ensure a safe and professional point-to-point service environment.
Transcript
The following question stood in the name of Ms Yeo Wan Ling –
6 To ask the Minister for Transport in light that passengers of private hire cars and taxis have taken to videoing in-vehicle disputes on devices such as handphones, whether LTA will consider allowing such drivers to install passenger facing video recorders with audio functions.
Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Question No 6.
The Senior Minister of State for Transport (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister of Transport): Since 2019, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has allowed taxi and private hire car drivers to install passenger-facing video recorders with audio functions in their vehicles, with prior permission from LTA, and only at LTA-authorised installation centres.
To protect passengers' privacy and guard against misuse, recordings made by these devices can only be accessed for investigation and enforcement purposes, such as in fare-related disputes and by authorised Government personnel and LTA-authorised persons only. They must also be stored securely.
Vehicles with such devices must be affixed with a notice to inform passengers and passengers must also be informed by operators should such a vehicle be matched to them. This is to give passengers a choice on whether they wish to take a vehicle equipped with such a recording device.
Taxi and private hire car drivers may not install and use unauthorised recording devices, such as their personal mobile phones, to record audio and/or video within their vehicles.
We encourage both point-to-point (P2P) drivers and commuters to treat each other with respect and act graciously when providing or using P2P services. In cases where drivers have been harassed by passengers who have used recording devices and shared these recordings online without the drivers' consent, drivers may seek recourse, including under the Protection from Harassment Act.