Taxi or Private-Hire Vehicle Driver: Which Suits You Better?

If you have just obtained your Taxi Driver’s Vocational Licence (TDVL) recently, the next big questions that you will ask would be: Should I be a full-time taxi driver or a private-hire vehicle (PHV) driver?

It may be hard to make the choice immediately, so we have prepared a few points of consideration to help you decide between the two options. There are pros and cons for each option, so read on to find out which one better suits your lifestyle.

Support

As a taxi driver for ComfortDelGro Taxi, you can enjoy benefits, including rental waiver, MediSave contributions, discounted medical rates, prolonged medical leave, cheaper fuel, a loyalty scheme, rental-free days, and compensation for downtime, amongst others.

Although PHV drivers do not enjoy the same benefits, they do enjoy driving incentives that are specially catered to them when driving for CDG Zig. They can choose to rent from us to enjoy even lower commissions compared to others.

Scheduling

For some PHV drivers, driving isn’t a full-time job. This would work well especially if you already have a full-time job and are looking at being a PHV driver for supplementary income. You can pick up passengers after sending your kids to school, on your way to work, after knocking off from work or even on the weekends. You can use your own vehicle, but fret not if you do not currently own one, as you can rent one from ComfortDelGro too!

Alternatively, if you prefer to drive full-time as taxi driver, you can still enjoy the flexibility of choosing when to drive during your regular shift. If you are the principle driver called a hirer, you can also arrange to have relief drivers to drive the different shifts on weekdays and weekend. That way, you will be splitting operating costs amongst yourselves.

Customers

Taxi drivers are allowed to pick up fares along the streets and at taxi stands. They can also accept bookings made by customers via our customer contact centre, SMSes and booking apps, including our very own CDG Zig App. Cabbies take these bookings via the Mobile Data Terminals in the taxis or through the CDG Zig Driver App.

For taxis, location surcharges are imposed at certain locations, including Changi Airport Terminals, Resort World Sentosa, Singapore Expo Centre, Marina Bay Cruise Centre, Gardens by the Bay and Seletar Airport. There are also peak period and late-night surcharges as well.

PHV drivers take bookings from different ride-hailing apps including CDG Zig. They cannot take street hail or pick up passengers waiting at taxi stands. Certain areas such as Jurong Island, Sembawang Shipyard, Keppel Shipyard, and Airline House are off-limits as well.

If you choose to be a taxi driver or a PHV driver with ComfortDelGro, you will have to undergo a two-day or one-day training course respectively before you are able to register as a driver with us. For more information about vocational licence, please visit https://www.cdgtaxi.com.sg/vocational-licence-courses/.

To learn more about driving opportunities, you can visit https://www.cdgtaxi.com.sg/drive-with-us/ and https://www.cdgtaxi.com.sg/phc-driver/ respectively.