Changes are coming to the private-hire industry way in 2021.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced that private-hire cars will be subjected to new inspection requirements from 1 January 2021.
New Inspection Requirements from 1 Jan 2021
All chauffeured private-hire registered cars (Z10/Z11/Z16/Z17) are required to undergo yearly periodic inspection. This is to ensure that all chauffeured private-hire vehicles remain safe for providing service.
Under the new inspection requirements, LTA will inform 3 months in advance when the vehicle is due for inspection.
Drivers who want to convert their passenger vehicle to a private-hire vehicle will also need to pass an inspection before they can convert it for private-hire usage.
Old Requirements
Previously, private-hire cars followed the inspection requirements of regular passenger cars. No inspection in the first 3 years, and inspection once every 2 years between 7-10 years.
Cars that were beyond 10 years old were required to go through an annual inspection. 
What is checked during a periodic inspection?
Besides the unmistakeable private-hire blue decal, the vehicle will be tested for its road-worthiness. According to OneMotoring, these are the checks that will be conducted.
The latest round of changes comes just slightly more than 1 month after changes were made to the requirements to be new private-hire drivers from 16 September 2020.
