Pilot Programme for SMRT Taxis to be Equipped with Booster Seats for Young Children

3 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can provide an update on the six-month pilot programme by SMRT Taxis to progressively equip its fleet of 2,800 taxis with booster seats for young children; and (b) whether the pilot will be extended to all taxis companies.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport (Mr Baey Yam Keng) (for the Minister for Transport): Madam, SMRT commenced a six-month Booster Seat Pilot Programme in March 2020, but due to the circuit breaker, it was extended to December 2020.

About 1,750 SMRT taxis were equipped with booster seats for young children. However, the utilisation rate for these booster seats was low, as there were very few requests for the booster seats from commuters. The booster seats remain in the taxis, and SMRT will provide further updates on their usage soon. If there are other taxi companies who are keen to conduct similar pilots, LTA will be glad to consider.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. I am just concerned why we are looking at utilisation rate versus safety. We know that children are getting injured because they are not in child car seats during the accident. We know that being in a child car seat can reduce the incidents of death by over 50% if you are in a car seat. So, I urge MOH to look into this as more of a safety issue rather than how many people are going to use it.

Secondly, I know there is a previous MOT reply that it is more practical for taxis to not carry the child car seats. Again, I hope we do not look at it as practicality versus safety. The practicality concerns are addressed already because nowadays, as I have showed the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, the child car seats are really compact; so, it does not take up much space. In fact, some of the booster seats can fit under the driver's seat. So, there is no issue of practicality and again, I hope we look at this at the safety angle.

For private vehicles, if your child is not in a car seat, you could go to jail for it. But somehow, I find it strange that the same car, same model, when it becomes a taxi, the safety considerations just disappear. I hope the Senior Parliamentary Secretary can clarify why.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: I thank the Member for his clarification. As always, every policy needs to strike a good balance, and in this case, for taxi drivers, the cost and also, operational considerations for them. Because taxis are used for livelihood. Taxi drivers make multiple trips throughout the day, serving the diverse needs of different passengers. In fact, we came to this position after public consultation with different stakeholders. Naturally, there was a range of views and one, as advocated by the Member Louis Ng, was that there should not be any compromise. So, all children in all vehicles must be in a booster seat or seat harness.

But taxi operators did highlight the constraints because taxis need to satisfy a boot size requirement for luggage or things carried by passengers. If we add on the booster seat requirement, it may pose a challenge, especially for the new hybrid car models which tend to have a smaller boot.

I thank the Member for showing me a compact booster seat that may be easier to store, but we must also look at – if the rule was or the law was implemented on taxis, it means that every child passenger in all taxis must be seated on a booster seat. First, it is not feasible for taxis to be fully equipped with different permutations of child restraints to cater to the children who may board the taxi. Also, this current exemption will facilitate taxis to offer street hail service for commuters with young children. Because the "flag, board and go" nature of street hails will be slowed down when the taxi drivers need to fix up the booster seats when stopping alongside the road.

This also may lead to some unhappiness among families with multiple young children, because they will need multiple taxis as there may not be sufficient child restraints in a single vehicle; or a larger capacity taxi with the various seats. So, it means that higher costs will be incurred on the families. And I do not think it is wise to impose this during this current economic situation.

But, parents have option of using private hire cars, or PHCs, already, as they are included in this Act. Because PHCs are pre-booked, the passengers can indicate upfront, the seats required and the drivers have ample notice to prepare the seats for the passengers. Therefore, PHCs are included. Today, most if not, all parents of young children should be quite savvy in using ride-hailing apps.

Therefore, I seek the Member's and parents' understanding that the current position does offer options and it strikes a good balance.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: I agree with Senior Parliamentary Secretary that there is a cost concern, but I hope then it is not the third element where it is cost versus safety. I am speaking up for the private hire drivers as well. We make it compulsory for them, for PHCs that they have to be in car seats. Then again, it is a bit strange that for taxis, it is not. The rationale given is because taxis do street hails. But really, how many street hails are there nowadays, for the taxis? I think a lot of them are based on bookings as well.

For parents with young children, I really doubt that in today's context, they would actually do street hail. They would also book the taxis rather than go down on the streets and try and flag one down.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: I thank the Member for his push for this. Safety for all people, especially young children, is important. MOT will continue to monitor the situation. I think while safety is important, but we really also need to consider other implications, especially when it affects the livelihood of people.

One option we could look at, I think, if we see that there is a need for it, would be good to look at maybe ride-hail type of journeys to look into. But we will continue to consult and work with the different stakeholders as we look into this area.