PRIVATE-hire vehicles (PHVs) have eclipsed taxis as Singapore’s leading type of point-to-point commercial transport. It is time their owners are excluded from the bidding pool for Certificates of Entitlement (COEs).

When they first arrived in Singapore, PHV platforms were a way for vehicle owners to generate income on the side – a real estate agent offering a ride between viewings, a musician with an afternoon to kill before a night-time gig, a salesperson with a slow day.

Most Singapore residents still relied on taxis for point-to-point coverage, as there were not enough PHV drivers to fulfil everyone’s needs.