Taxis of Singapore come in two main varieties. Traditional taxi companies offer flag down and call bookings and their drivers are self-employed persons,https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/individual-income-tax/self-employed-and-partnerships/am-i-a-self-employed-person who hire cars from the taxi companies, through a leasing contract. Ridesharing companies allow bookings through a smartphone, allowing ease for passengers, these are mostly known as private hire vehicles (PHV). Their apps also allow the flexibility to work and pick up passengers with their own vehicle, be it owned or rented, provided the various requirements are met depending on the company.
In Singapore, taxis can be flagged down at any time of the day along any public road outside of the Central Business District (CBD), while private hire cars can only be booked via ridesharing apps. Issues of high traffic and demand in certain locations and areas, particularly in the downtown area and other major buildings and establishments around the island, require the provision of dedicated taxi stands instead of having only flag down taxis.
As of December 2025, there were 12,161 taxis and 62,092 PHVs (chauffeur) in Singapore.
Operations Private hire cars are predominantly operated by large companies, which require either a street-hail service operator licence (SSOL) or ride-hail service operator licence (RSOL) from the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Holders of the SSOL and RSOL are required to comply with LTA's Quality of Service (QoS) standards, codes of practice and audit directions, failure of which the LTA may revoke the licence.
While there are a small number of privately operated Yellow-Top taxis (with a yellow top and black body), their numbers are continually shrinking since no new private licenses have been issued since the 1970s, existing licenses are not transferable, and their holders have to retire at age 75. The number of taxis in the group also has declined significantly due to competition from Grab and as of December 2025, there are only five individually owned yellow-top taxis on Singapore’s roads.
As of 2026, there are 8 taxi and ridesharing companies in Singapore. Taxi companyBrandDominantcolourLicence started inFleet Street-hail OperatorsComfortDelGroComfortBlue19705,751CityCabYellow19951,851TransCabTransCabRed20031,948Strides PremierStridesLime20031,789SilvercabSilver2003Prime TaxisPrime TaxisCopper2007517GrabGrabCabGreen2025300Total12,161 Ride Sharing OperatorsGrabGreen2013No dataRydePurple2018TADABlack/Yellow2018GojekGreen/Black2018ComfortDelGroBlue/Yellow2020Total62,092
All taxi and private hire car drivers in Singapore are required to hold a valid Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (TDVL) or Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence (PDVL) issued by the Land Transport Authority, after having met basic prerequisites and successfully completed a training course at the Singapore Taxi Academy and passing a theory test. Holders of the licence may then rent a taxi or private hire car on a daily rental basis.
As of December 2022, there were a total of 93,643 TDVL holders in Singapore and 48,309 PDVL holders in Singapore.
Fares Fares on Singapore's taxis are considered relatively affordable, and are thus a popular form of transportation in Singapore, particularly for the middle income groups. Taxi fares were regulated by the Public Transport Council until September 1998 to allow operators full freedom in setting their own fares in a bid to introduce greater competition in the market.
Stringent requirements ensure that all taxis are fitted with meters. It is an offence for taxi drivers to disable, tamper with, or fail to use their metering devices. Drivers found guilty may be fined up to S$500, an enforced rule which brings fare disputes down to a minimum.
+ Metered taxi fares Standard PremiumFlag-down fare$4.40 to $4.80$4.80 to $5.50Distance-based fare26 cents every 400m (1 km – 10 km)26 cents every 350m (above 10 km)36 to 38 cents every 400m (1 km – 10 km)36 to 38 cents every 350m (above 10 km)Waiting fare26 cents for every 45 sec of waiting time36 to 38 cents for every 45 sec of waiting time
Booking can be done at $2.90 or $3.30. The peak hours are from Monday to Friday, 6 am - 9.30 am and 6.00 pm - 12.00 am; and weekends from 11 am - 3 pm and 6 pm - 12 am, and has a surcharge of 25% of the metered fare, whereas for late night, it is 50% of the metered fare. There is also a CBD surcharge of $3, together with Changi Airport surcharge at $8 all days from 5.00 pm to 12.00 am, and $6 at all other times. Others include $3 for Seletar Airport, $3 for Resorts World Sentosa and Singapore Expo.
A flat fare may also be offered by operators of taxis and private hire vehicles. A fixed fee is charged for the purpose of conveying the passenger(s) from a pick-up location to a final destination. Public transport such as buses, ferries and airlines adopted the flat rate model for its ease of design and simplicity of implementation, where there are non-negotiable fixed routes and designated stops. The flat fare is based on the distance travelled in the computed Point-to-Point or P2P route (e.g. using GPS system) derived from the online booking information, and could be further adjusted based on the prevailing surcharges by the service operators. It does not cater to additional itineraries requested by passenger(s), such as diverting to other waypoint(s) (for whatever reason) or making extra stop(s) along the original P2P route. In such cases, additional levies will apply where applicable. For the flat fares, under ComfortDelGro and Grab, there is a $5 surcharge for extra stop made outside the booking.
Safety In addition to safety, modern day taxis and models used are equipped as standard with passive safety features including airbags and seatbelts. Seat belt wearing is mandatory for all passengers in accordance with §75 of the Road Traffic Act. Passengers who fail to wear a safety belt may be fined up to S$120. In a court judgement on a civil suit due to a road accident, a district court awarded $330,500 damages to a passenger against her cab driver for contributory negligence, because the driver failed to ensure that she (the passenger) wore a seat belt.
In 2017, the LTA clarified that booster seats or child restraints are required for all passengers under 1.35m in height riding in a Private Hire Vehicle or the front seat of a taxi. Passengers should indicate if they require booster seats or child restraints when they make a booking for a Private Hire Vehicle. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the rule is not readily observed. On the basis that "they can be street-hailed", this rule does not apply to taxis, on the condition that the person below 1.35m in height is seated in the rear seat of the taxi.
History Taxicabs were first introduced in Singapore in 1910 by C.F. Wearne and Co., using taximeters imported from the United Kingdom installed in Rover cars. The Straits Times claimed that Singapore was the second city in the East with a taxi service, after Calcutta. In 1919, The Singapore Motor Taxi Cab and Transport Co. Ltd., which planned to work with the municipal government to set up a taxi service, was proposed, but the plans fell through. In 1933, Wearnes introduced the first private Yellow-Top taxis. These cabs were the first of their kind in colonial Singapore.
The 1950s and 1960s In the 1960s, with the poor state of Singapore's public transportation, illegal taxi operations proliferated. These taxis were uninsured and often overcrowded with passengers. The police tried to mitigate the issue by discouraging people from taking such taxis, but their efforts had little effect, a result of problems faced with finding witnesses to testify against pirate taxi owners. The police also started sending undercover agents to deal with these taxis, but the number of pirate taxis continued to increase, detrimentally impacting bus and licensed taxi operators. In February 1966, a committee was set up by the Singapore government to review the policy on taxis and taxi drivers, especially with respect to taxi licenses. The committee completed its report by June that year, in which it recommended an increase in the number of licensed taxis, along with the legalisation of pirate taxis for the sole purpose of transporting schoolchildren. The report also recommended against increasing the number of taxi licenses. In addition, penalties for pirate taxi operators were increased, with higher fines and prison terms for up to six months. In October 1966, with new government regulation, licensed taxis were required to have a two-tone black and yellow livery, and be fitted with a lit sign with the word 'Taxi" on the roof.
The 1970s, 1980s and 1990s By 1970, with the implementation of a diesel tax and an additional 1,200 licenses for taxis, the government announced plans to phase out pirate taxis. In May that year, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) announced plans to provide a cooperative taxi and minibus service, and to get former pirate taxi drivers to drive the minibuses as part of the cooperative. In July 1970, a taxi stop scheme was trialled on four streets in the central area, in which taxis could only stop at designated taxi stops. Despite concerns over inconvenience and confusion raised by the Taxi Driver's Association, the Registry of Vehicles declared the trial a success and went on to expand the scheme. Pirate and school taxis were eventually phased out by July 1971.
NTUC's taxi cooperative, named 'Comfort', started operations in 1971 with a fleet of 1,000 taxis, with the first taxis entering service at the end of January that year.
In June 1981, electronic meters were introduced to the taxis. TIBS Taxis was formed in 1987, and was renamed to SMRT Taxis on 10 May 2004.
In 1995, CityCab was formed with the merger of SBS Taxi, Singapore Commuter and Singapore Airport Bus Services. In April 1998, CityCab had introduced MaxiCab (a 7-seater cab).
The 2000s: Rise of Electronic Payments and Alternative Sources of Fuel in Taxis In November 2006, NETS payment was made available for the first time in taxis in Singapore, and in September 2009, online taxi booking was introduced. In February 2010, the ComfortDelGro taxi booking app was launched for iPhone users, and this was extended in June 2011 to Android and Blackberry users. In December 2013, in-vehicle cameras were installed in all ComfortDelGro taxis.
In January 2007, ComfortDelGro introduced a new generation of taxis, which were the Hyundai Sonata, followed by the Toyota Camry (Natural Gas Retrofit) in 2008, whereas Yellow-Top had purchased Fiat Panorama and Fiat Croma JTD. ComfortDelGro had announced that it would be purchasing Hyundai Sonata and Hyundai i40 vehicles after which it was replaced by Toyota Prius and Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid.
On 11 July 2008, ComfortDelGro announced the implementation of a $0.30 fuel surcharge starting from 17 July. Other taxi companies except Prime Taxis followed suit with different implementation dates. ComfortDelGro Yellow-Top taxis ceased to exist from October 2007.
On 25 January 2008, the Land Transport Authority announced that it would also set up a common call booking telephone number for taxis by July 2008, to complement the taxi companies’ call booking systems, which is called +65 6342 5222 (Common Taxi Booking Number). In March 2008, street hail in the central business district was banned, but it was relaxed in stages, on roads without public buses plying in the first phase from 17 March 2009, the second phase involved shortening the time to full-day bus lane hours from 23 February 2012 and finally, it was eased on every road except roads with full-day and half-day bus lanes from January 2013.