Several taxi drivers, who were unhappy with the recent decision by the government to legalize private-car handling companies like Uber and Grab, have resigned from the National Taxi Association (NTA) in what is seen to be a protest move by some of the drivers.
According to an unnamed taxi driver, who submitted the screenshot of a post on the Singapore Taxi Drivers Facebook, several taxi drivers had been contemplated quitting the union, which offered them no protection from the "pirating" acts of Uber and Grab.
A.S.S. contributor, who only wanted to be known as Mr Quek, wrote: "Why should we bother to pay fees to this useless organization? They do not offer us any real legal protection."
Others on the Singapore Taxi Drivers Facebook appear to share the same sentiments.
One netizen taxi driver, Bert Bc, wrote: "Another jiak liao bee association. Pay membership fees only for those useless council advisors (mostly the useless MIW) to enjoy their multi million dollar view @ OMB office! Its just an association with no teeth! Do they need to be at such posh office location?"
When asked why they had tendered their resignations from the NTA, a number of them definitively cited the inability of the union to handle the private-hire drivers issue to their advantage.
According to new rules announced by the Ministry of Transport, private drivers who obtain licenses after a series of medical and vocational tests will be allowed to ply their services on roads alongside taxi drivers. The regulations have put the heat on existing taxi drivers, who find the increased competition tough to beat.
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