Singapore’s last 5 yellow-top taxi drivers nearing end of the road

These cabs were once a common sight on Singapore's roads. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SINGAPORE – Once a common sight on Singapore’s roads, yellow-top taxis have dwindled to just five, with encounters so rare they can become a social media post.

Among the remaining drivers is 73-year-old Mr Chamkour Singh, who plans to hang up his hat by the end of the year.

“Last time, yellow-tops were the majority,” he said, gesturing at the line of taxis at Ban San Street Terminal in Bugis, where he spoke to The Straits Times earlier in March. “Now we are nothing.”

As at January 2026, only five such cabs remained out of more than 12,000 taxis here, according to Land Transport Authority (LTA) statistics, a steep fall from 114 in January 2017. In the 1960s, the black vehicles with their bright yellow tops were synonymous with taxis, with almost 4,000 on the roads.

Soon, they will be a bygone piece of Singapore’s transport heritage. With them will go a model of taxi ownership, as their drivers own and operate the cabs, unlike current taxis, which are all leased from operators.

Company fleets now dominate the landscape. ComfortDelGro operates 7,579 taxis under its Comfort and CityCab brands, and Trans-Cab 1,948. Other operators include Strides Premier, with 1,786 taxis, Prime, with 515, and GrabCab, with 345.