Oral Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Amy Khor to Parliamentary Question on VL Rejections and Appeals due to Criminal Records

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Transport in the last three years

a.     how many applications for the (i) Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (ii) Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence (iii) Bus Driver's Vocational Licence (iv) Bus Attendant's Vocational Licence and (v) Omnibus Driver's Vocational Licence were rejected due to the criminal record of the applicants for offences other than rape, murder or kidnapping respectively; and

b.    of these, how many appeals were received and how many were approved upon appeal.

Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment Dr Amy Khor:

1.     Of the more than 15,000 vocational licence (VL) applications across the different services in 2022, 226 applications (about 1.5%) were rejected due to criminal records, including murder, rape and kidnapping.

2.     It is necessary for LTA to screen the VL applications to safeguard the interests of the commuting public.

3.     LTA may consider appeals from applicants with criminal records depending on the nature of the case. In 2022, 72 out of these 169 appeals were acceded to. LTA considers such appeals carefully to strike a balance between allowing applicants who committed less severe offences to take on driving as a vocation while safeguarding the safety of passengers.