To achieve a more stable supply of vehicles that can be used to provide ride-hail services, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will introduce a mandatory three-year lock-in period for all newly registered or converted chauffeured Private Hire Cars (cPHCs) owned by businesses, and all cPHCs transferred from individuals to businesses.^[1]

2.        This ensures that businesses who acquire cPHCs do so predominantly for the purpose of leasing them to drivers providing ride-hail services and prevents the premature conversion of such PHCs out of the cPHC scheme which will affect the supply of vehicles available for P2P services.

Three-year Lock-in Period for Business-owned cPHCs

3.        With effect from 19 February 2025, new business-owned cPHCs will be required to remain classified as a cPHC for at least three years.

4.        The three-year lock-in period will commence based on the following scenarios:

5.        From 19 February 2025, business-owned cPHCs with an existing lock-in period can still be transferred to another business, and the remaining lock-in duration will be carried over to the new business. However, business-owned cPHCs with an existing lock-in period cannot be transferred to an individual.

6.       The lock-in period will not apply to:

a.    Existing business-owned cPHCs that were registered, converted or transferred before 19 February 2025. These cPHCs will not be subject to this lock-in period, and can also be transferred to another business without triggering a lock-in period; and

b.    cPHCs owned by individuals, who typically use them both for providing ride-hail services and for personal trips.

Ongoing Certificate of Entitlement Bidding Exercise

7.        The lock-in period will apply to vehicles that have their Certificates of Entitlement (COE) issued as part of the ongoing bidding exercise from 17 February 2025 to 19 February 2025. It will not apply to business-owned cPHCs registered using temporary COEs obtained before 19 February 2025.

8.        LTA had originally wanted to announce this new requirement after the current COE bidding exercise in February 2025. However, due to an unintended release of information by our vendor NCS, which should not have happened, some industry players received notification of this new lock-in period before the planned announcement date.

9.        To ensure transparency and fairness for all stakeholders, LTA has decided to bring forward the implementation of this new policy to 19 February, before the close of the COE bidding process.


Annex:  Frequently Asked Questions on Lock-In Duration for Business-Owned Chauffeured Private Hire Cars (cPHCs)

^[1] Chauffeured PHCs (cPHCs) refer to Z-class vehicles, which are predominantly used for chauffeured services (e.g. ride-hail services). Business-owned cPHCs refer to cPHCs owned by business entities registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).