自动驾驶冲击下德士私召车司机转型支持

30 Assoc Prof Terence Ho asked the Minister for Transport (a) what have been the take-up rates of (i) Career Conversion Programmes and (ii) other SkillsFuture-supported training initiatives for full-time taxi and private hire car drivers over the past two years; and (b) whether there are targets for career conversion or training take-up rates under the recently launched manpower transition package for such drivers.

31 Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Transport given LTA's statement on 18 September 2026 that autonomous vehicle deployment will not outpace support for affected drivers (a) what indicators the Ministry monitors to assess the displacement of taxi and private hire drivers, including driver earnings; and (b) what changes in these indicators could result in deployment being slowed.

32 Ms Hany Soh asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry anticipates progressive disruption to taxi and private hire drivers' livelihoods with the gradual expansion of autonomous vehicles for passenger service in Singapore; and (b) how may such drivers be supported in being reskilled or upskilled, or pivoting to careers in other industries.

33 Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Transport in view of Waymo's market entry into Singapore, whether the Ministry can provide (i) updated information on the timeline and milestones for operators of autonomous vehicles (AVs) (ii) safeguards, such as a cap on AVs, to pace the rollout and (iii) the measurable implementation targets for its plans to help point-to-point drivers find suitable work.

Mr Jeffrey Siow : The deployment of autonomous vehicles in Singapore is at an early stage. Today, we have 15 vehicles in Punggol. Grab plans to have 50 vehicles in the next six months. Waymo will begin testing and preparations for their deployment in the western part of Singapore in 2027, with the aim of starting commercial service the year after. By end-2028, there may be several hundred autonomous passenger vehicles in Singapore. The vehicles will be deployed across a variety of constrained use cases as we are still in the phase of safety validation and establishing market demand and acceptance. The number of autonomous vehicles is a very small percentage of the total number of active taxi and private hire car drivers which currently stands at 72,000. Thus, we do not expect any immediate impact on driver jobs and livelihoods.

Beyond the next two years, the pace of autonomous vehicle (AV) deployment depends on multiple factors, such as technology readiness, safety validation, operator growth, the level of public confidence and acceptance, and the impact on existing drivers. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally had said that we will not let adoption run ahead of our ability to retrain and support affected drivers and help them move into new jobs.

While it is not possible to predict how many AVs will be in Singapore in five years, it is almost certain that the majority of point-to-point transport will be provided by human drivers. Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked if we should cap the number of AVs. We should not do so as our transport needs are still growing. We are also facing challenges, such as an ageing workforce and more taxi drivers retiring in the coming years. I note that when ride hailing apps and private hire car drivers first came into the market and were seen as a competition to taxi drivers, we similarly did not cap the number of private hire car drivers.

Although there is no immediate impact on drivers' livelihoods, we fully recognise and understand that some taxi and private hire car drivers are concerned. This is why the Government is proactively rolling out support and job transition packages, in partnership with industry and union partners to support drivers who wish to explore opportunities in the AV sector, or in other sectors.

We have launched the new career conversion programme (CCP) for autonomous vehicle specialists, and the new point-to-point driver to bus captain pathway under the CCP for public transport professionals. Under these programmes, the Government provides up to 90% salary support to participating employers. For a start, we have catered about 350 placements for both CCPs, and we encourage interested drivers to explore these options. The Ministry of Manpower does not currently track the participation rate of platform workers in CCPs. The Government is fully prepared to scale up CCP capacity if demand is higher than expected. Drivers who are successfully placed on CCP will have a job and receive a salary from the participating employer.