Taxi Service Regulations and Vocational Licence Obligations
The vocational licence is a privilege granted by the Land Transport Authority. You must hold a valid TDVL, produce it when required, and display your particulars in the taxi as prescribed. You must be medically fit, attend periodic medical examinations, and keep your personal particulars updated. You must not drive if your licence is suspended, or if illness, alcohol or drugs make you unfit.
Core obligations: accept hire unless you have a valid reason to refuse - destination outside Singapore, passengers exceeding the permitted capacity, a passenger who is abusive or seriously intoxicated, or you are genuinely not on duty. Use the meter for every metered journey; no fixed-price bargaining. Start the meter when the passenger boards and issue a receipt on request. Do not tout, overcharge, deliberately take a longer route, smoke in the taxi, or use a phone while driving. Keep the taxi clean, roadworthy and correctly signposted. Comply with Public Transport Council fare rules and the Taxi Driver Demerit Points System: overcharging, refusing hire and meter tampering attract points and can lead to suspension or revocation.
Traps: 'the passenger offered a flat fare, so it is fine' - it is not. 'I was off duty' while the sign showed otherwise. 'The meter was faulty so I estimated' - you should not have accepted the job.
Rule of thumb: when in doubt, do exactly what the meter and the licence conditions require, and record the trip details.