New London taxis for the continued transportation convenience of wheelchair bound passengers

Wheelchair-bound passengers can now look forward to more comfortable rides in brand new vehicles, at the same affordable fares as before. Continuing our commitment to provide our essential service for the less mobile in Singapore, SMRT have started to put our new fleet of London taxis on the roads yesterday (8 March). These wheelchair accessible taxis (WATs) will replace the ones which will see their statutory lifespan come to an end this month.

Four of these iconic vehicles went out on the road, and another 26 is set to follow by August.

With a majority of the London taxi passengers being the wheelchair-bound, SMRT vehicles play a significant role in the transportation needs of these passengers. Even as the provision of WATs is boosted, there will be no change to the fares for London taxis.

The new vehicles will offer smoother and safer rides as they run on automatic transmission and are Euro 4 compliant. In addition, all the drivers will undergo training and familiarisation on the new London taxis, before they go out on the roads.

To serve the wheelchair-bound community even better,  a dedicated hotline for the WAT service has been set up (Tel: 6477 5988). This number is solely for the booking of our WATs which includes our Hyundai Starex taxi.

SMRT has also committed to a disbursement of $350,000 in cash or services-in-kind for the transportation of wheelchair bound passengers over the next eight years.

The formation of this new fleet comes with support from the Ministry of Social and Family Development via a grant which will be used to cover part of the COE and ARF.

Acting Minister for Social and Family Development, Mr Chan Chun Sing, said, “This new fleet of vehicles will help to meet the growing demand as more persons with disabilities are using motorised wheelchairs. It will also help persons with disabilities get about their daily lives – to go to school, to work, to take part in different activities - with greater convenience. This is in line with our vision under the Enabling Masterplan 2012 – 2016, where we seek to be an inclusive society.”

Mr Desmond Kuek, President and Chief Executive Officer of SMRT Corporation, added: “We are pleased to be able to, not just continue our provision to the wheelchair-bound in Singapore, but also to expand that by making more wheelchair accessible taxis available for them. We thank the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the vehicle supplier for their support in making this possible.”

- END -

For media enquiries, please contact:

Frankie Chee

Manager, Media & Marketing Communications

SMRT Corporation Ltd

DID: 6331 1144

Email: frankiechee@smrt.com.sg