SINGAPORE - HDT Singapore Taxi has become the first taxi business to fold amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, with the Land Transport Authority this week accepting its application to close.
It said it is restructuring to focus on other green transport solutions, like electric buses and trucks, as well as the leasing of electric vehicles. Those retrenched will be paid a month of salary for each year of service, on a pro-rata basis. Drivers will be given their annual wage supplement, have their Medisave accounts topped up till the end of the year, and be given a one-off retrenchment benefit"as a gesture of gratitude", the company said.
Demand for taxis and private-hire cars during the two-month circuit breaker in April and May was almost non-existent. Even now, with the economy slowly reopening, ridership continues to hover around 60 per cent to 70 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels, severely impacting drivers' - and taxi companies' - revenue streams.