SINGAPORE: Due to their foreign employees’ inability to drive in Singapore without obtaining a local licence, a few private bus operators and tour businesses are struggling to fill overbooked driving lesson times.
The use of bots by students to reserve spots at driving facilities, including the Singapore Safety Driving Centre (SSDC), has exacerbated the situation. To operate big motor vehicles like buses, you can only obtain a Class 4 licence at SSDC, which is situated in Woodlands.
About thirty percent of bus drivers employed by tour operator WTS Travel, for example, are unemployed as they await instruction and test results. Foreign nationals make up up to half of all the drivers it employs. A WTS representative said that before the COVID-19 outbreak, it took international staff roughly four to five months to receive their driving licences.
The current turnaround time is approximately six to seven months, resulting in a 20% decrease in revenue for the organisation. The representative stated, “We don’t have the drivers to fulfil the jobs, so we cannot cater to available jobs.” “We are essentially inert.
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