JB-S’pore driving touts are back at Larkin Sentral

JB-S’pore driving touts are back at Larkin Sentral

Illegal ride-hailing operators offering Johor Baru-Singapore cross-border services have reappeared after a hiatus.

Touts offering the services are back at Larkin Sentral in Johor Baru with a different modus operandi.

Malaysian licensed cross-border taxi driver Safarudin Abu Bakar, 44, said the drivers were now using sedans instead of multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) to evade detection by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Safarudin, who has been plying the Johor Baru-Singapore route for 13 years, said fares had also risen to S$35 (RM114) per person, from S$30 (RM98).

“They provide services from Larkin terminal to any part of Singapore,” he said.

Malaysian cabbie Affidin Salimun, 52, is calling for action.

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“We hope the LTA goes after them for illegally ferrying passengers to Singapore,” he said, adding that the only way to eliminate such services was if Singapore authorities took action against passengers, including charging them in court.

He also called upon Malaysian Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) and LTA to allow Malaysian-registered cross-border taxis to offer door-to-door service to Singapore.

Currently, only Singapore-registered taxis are allowed to drop off passengers anywhere in Singapore, while Malaysian taxis are only allowed to send passengers from Larkin Terminal to Ban San Street taxi stand across the border.

Under current legislation, offering cross-border services without a valid Public Service Vehicle Licence (PSVL), is an offence that carries a fine of up to S$3,000 or a jail term up to six months.