Stiffer Penalties for Taxi Fare Evasion in Singapore

Fare evasion penalties were also made harsher in 2008, with cheats facing a penalty of S$1,000 for a first offence and S$2,000 or a jail term up to six months for subsequent offences.

While there are rising cases of commuters evading paying taxi fare in Singapore, the Singapore government authorities have came up with a more stringent penalties in order to deal with these offenders.  In usual cases, passengers in their 20s or 30s would try to make a run for it, leaving the taxi driver in trail.  While older passengers would mentioned going to ATM or home to get the cab fare but never return.


Fact and Figures

Public Transport Council (PTC) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) has reported an increase of 17.6 percent from 68 case in 2012 to 80 cases this year with cases of fare evasion reported. Fare evasion penalties were also made harsher in 2008, with cheats facing a penalty of S$1,000 for a first offence and S$2,000 or a jail term up to six months for subsequent offences.

In December 2012, Singapore's largest taxi company, ComfortDelGro has began putting decals on taxi windows, reminding commuters that fare evasion was against the law.