Singapore is going to implement Circuit Breaker for 1 month from 7 April until 4 May 2020 (inclusive) to minimize further spread of COVID-19 within the country. Significantly reducing movements and interactions in public and private places can function as a circuit breaker to bring the infection numbers down. Only essential services that support daily needs will remain open, with safe-distancing measures in place. Other non-essential services and retail outlets, such as recreation venues, sports and recreation facilities, will be closed.

Transportation Service such as taxis and private hire cars (PHVs) are deemed as essential services during this period. However, it seems that unregulated car/ride hitching are still allow to operate during this 1 month period. The economics of unregulated ride hitching in Singapore mainly benefits riders, as riders knowingly goes for the cheapest traveling option (hitching) and avoids booking taxis and regulated private hire cars via apps such as Grab and Gojek. During this COVID-19 pandemic period where Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) Drivers in Singapore are having a very difficult time, ridership demand has dropped drastically as the majority of the population are choosing to commute less. Given the reduced demand, a significant number of PHV drivers are being forced to take unregulated car/ride hitching in order to cover their ongoing operational expenses such as car rental and fuel.

Based on anecdotal evidence of a Singapore based Telegram group, there are more than 5000 unregulated car/ride hitching per day being arranged. These unregulated car/ride hitching increases the unnecessary risk of spread of COVID-19 within the community as the rides are more difficult to record & trace. 

This petition is targeting at the total ban of unregulated car/ride hitching during this pandemic to keep the community safer and minimize the spread of COVID-19. This ban will also help reduce the economic impact of this Covid-19 outbreak on this hardworking but vulnerable group of essential transportation service providers.