Response by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng to Mr Louis Ng’s Adjournment Motion on Providing Child Car Seats in Taxis and Private Hire Cars

1.     Madam Deputy Speaker. The Member has raised several parliamentary questions on the topic of making child seats mandatory in taxis. I would like to commend the Member for his efforts in engaging the different stakeholders and raising awareness for the importance of child seats. In fact, it was the Member who first gave the idea for SMRT’s booster seat trial. We also enjoyed the video he made with his two adorable daughters and shared on social media. 

2.     We all agree that safety is important. Therefore, we have introduced many measures to protect the safety of motorists, their passengers and other road users. These include good traffic rules, stringent standards in awarding driving and vocational licences, effective traffic management systems and enforcement. 

3.     As an additional measure to protect our children, we require all passengers under 1.35m in height to be properly secured using approved child restraints or booster seats when travelling in motor vehicles. Taxis are the only exception to this rule. 

4.     Our practice is similar to countries such as Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some jurisdictions in the U.S. including New York and Washington D.C. The member is right that some places like Germany, California, and New South Wales which strictly require child restraints and booster seats to be used in taxis. However, generally, the onus is on the parents to bring along the required types and number of child restraints and booster seats. Taxis there are generally not required to provide the child restraints and seats.     

5.     Let me explain the rationale behind this longstanding exemption. Over the years, there have been concerns about bulky child seats taking up significant boot space in taxis and the time taken to install and remove them for each trip. As children of different age groups require different types of restraints and seats, there were also concerns about how to ensure that taxis had the right configuration of child seats to cater to different families. The alternative was for parents to be responsible for providing the child seats, as is the practice in some countries, but there were practical challenges about parents having to lug heavy, bulky car seats around – especially those with bigger families. 

6.     As the Member has rightly pointed out, more portable child restraints and seats have become available on the market in recent years. In 2019, LTA conducted consultations with the public, drivers, operators and other stakeholders on a suite of regulatory changes for the taxi and private hire car (PHC) sector. At that time, we had also sought public and industry feedback on the option of mandating the use of child restraints and booster seats in taxis. However, views were split almost right down the middle. Even within each group of stakeholders consulted, there were different views. 

a.     Amongst parents, less than half the respondents to the public consultation supported requiring all children to be properly secured in child restraints or booster seats in taxis. Some parents felt that they are fundamentally responsible for their child’s safety and should be able to decide whether to bring and use child restraints and booster seats. Even if taxis and PHCs are equipped with child restraints and booster seats, some parents also voiced concerns regarding their hygiene and may prefer not to use them. I expect the concerns to be greater now during the current pandemic. Larger families will also have to divide themselves into multiple vehicles as the carrying capacity of taxis will be reduced with child restraints and booster seats. For example, a family with 2 adults and 3 children can commute in 1 taxi now. If we impose the child seat requirement, the carrying capacity will be reduced to 4 and this family will need to take 2 taxis. I believe this applies to the Member’s family as well.  

b.     Taxi drivers also raised concerns about mandating child seats. Because of the “flag and go” nature of street-hail trips, it is not possible for commuters to indicate their requirements for child restraints and booster seats in advance. Drivers expressed concerns about their own safety and causing traffic tailbacks and unhappiness from other road users as they set up the child restraints and booster seats by the side of the road. The Member mentioned that setting up child restraints and booster seats takes less time than helping a passenger in a wheelchair to board a taxi. There is a difference. Passengers in foldable wheelchairs typically board on the side of the street – they are helped onboard, the wheelchair is folded and stowed in the boot. Child restraints and booster seats are quite different. If there are more than one child restraint and/or booster seats, one of them would have to be set up on the side of the road. The parent would also have to squeeze in between the two children. I note that the Member has not shown us in his video how he managed to do so.   

c.     Operators also provided feedback that taxis are expected to meet the needs of diverse groups of passengers. It is not feasible to expect taxis to be equipped with the full range and number of child restraints and booster seats to cater to the different age groups and number of child passengers that they may pick up. While models proposed by the Member are portable, they are for children who are about 9 months or older. Child seats for young infants still tend to be bulkier and more expensive. So, we will work with the operators to review how the Member’s suggestion will affect the remaining boot space for other passengers, such as those with foldable wheelchairs or luggage.  

7.     In the meantime, we have observed a significant increase in the number of bookings for family-friendly ride-hail services, where parents can indicate their requirements in advance for child restraints and booster seats. Our point-to-point transport operators are sensitive to the market, and greater demand for child restraints and booster seats from parents will spur operators to increase provision. 

8.     In fact, SMRT has already conducted a booster seat trial, which the Member is familiar with. For the trial, about 1,750 SMRT taxis were equipped with a booster seat each. Although SMRT’s booster seats were provided at no extra cost to the passengers, the take-up rate was still low. We acknowledge the Member’s proposals to provide one child seat and one booster seat in each taxi (the Member’s first proposal), and to work with hospitals to increase access and use of infant car seats (the Member’s third proposal). These are new ideas which we will share with the relevant agencies and stakeholders. However, looking at the SMRT trial, the issue is not just about the provision of child restraints and booster seats, but also how to raise awareness and ensure that parents use the child restraints and booster seats when they are provided. This is the Member’s second recommendation, which we fully support. 

9.     Madam Deputy Speaker, safety is a shared responsibility. On the issue of child seats, parents, drivers and operators all need to be on board, so raising awareness and reaching a common understanding is key. Today, we have a workable equilibrium where parents who require child restraints and booster seats can book a ride-hail trip while those that need a street-hail taxi urgently can do so without breaching the law.  We will look into viable business and operational models that can provide options for those who need child restraints and booster seats, while balancing diverse needs by different families. We will be happy to work with the Member to engage the relevant agencies and stakeholders.