LTA looking to 'enhance signage and markings' at taxi stands

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is looking to enhance the signage and markings at taxi stands, following an incident on Monday (31^st July) morning where a double-decker bus ran into a taxi stand opposite the Vivocity shopping mall. The driver of the service 97 bus, operated by Tower Transit, had mistaken the sheltered taxi stand along Telok Blangah Road for a bus stop, according to a spokesman for the Anglo-Australian firm. No one was injured in the accident.

"Since 2012, newly-built sheltered pickup/dropoff points, including taxi stands, have been required to have a minimum headroom of 4.5m to provide sufficient clearance for even double-deckered buses, which are of about 4.4m in height," said the LTA on Friday (4^th August), adding that these points are fitted with height limit signs and bars to alert drivers.

In order to help bus captains differentiate between the various stopping points, the authority said it is looking into 'increasing the prominence of the height limit signage and the visibility of the markings of the taxi lots'.

The LTA added that bus operators have reminded bus captains to look out for the height limit signs, and have increased emphasis of these signs when training new bus captains. Monday's incident is believed to be the third such case this year.

In April this year, a SBS Transit double-decker bus was severely damaged after running into the roof of a taxi stand shelter at Bishan MRT station. A month later (May), a double-deckered bus operated by Go-Ahead Singapore crashed into the shelter of a taxi stand outside the Yishun MRT station. No injuries were reported in either accident.