Yellow-Top taxis
Yellow-Top taxis are a collective group of individually owned taxis in Singapore. They have a yellow top and black body, hence their name. They make up only 505 taxis in total (about 10% of the whole fleet).
History
In 1933 Wearnes introduced the first private Yellow-Top taxis. These cabs were the first of their kind in colonial Singapore and have continued since then.
Ownership
These taxis are required to be replaced every eight years, or they may choose to have their licence acquired by Yellow-Top Cab and become a hirer of the taxi company. These taxis are expected to eventually cease to exist, however, as all new taxi drivers are required to hire their taxis from any of the Taxi Operator License holders.
When taxi drivers reach the age of 73, they are required to surrender their license. If they die before reaching 73, STTA (see below) will then sell the license to another driver, who may continue to drive until he/she turns 73.
STTA
The Singapore Taxi Transport Association (short form STTA) is a union catering to those private taxi drivers. The Association mainly takes care of administrative matters, like the purchasing/selling of licenses et cetera. They also help drivers to purchase new vehicles.
Vehicles used
In the late 1960s the first Yellow-Top taxis were the Mercedes Benz 220S Ponton, followed by the Austin Cambridge A60. In the 1970s the Cambridge A60 still continued until the early 1980s followed by the Opel Rekord D, Peugeot 504, Morris Marina and the Russian GAZ Volga 24.
Current models seen running around Singapore are Nissan Cedric YPY31s and Toyota Crown Comforts, the Toyota Corona CT141 marking the late 1980s to early 1990s period. There were two remaining Toyota Corona taxis in 2006, but they were scrapped on August 20 of that year.
A few of the taxicabs are made up out of brand newSsangyong pickups, Honda Airwaves and another handful are Toyota Corolla E110s (Deregistering). Other models include the Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI (Sovereign), Volvo V70 (natural gas), Fiat Croma JTD, Toyota Wish, Toyota Liteace (5-Seater), Toyota Corolla Axio and Nissan Cedric YPY31s,
See also
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