The taxi industry is up in arms over transport app providers and rental car companies running their own fleet of 'taxis'. National Taxi Association (NTA) adviser Ang Hin Kee said yesterday that these companies are 'creaming off profits', without having to meet the stringent requirements and standards the taxi industry has to meet, reported The Straits Times.

Transport app provider Uber recently set up its own car rental company to run what is effectively a parallel taxi operation. It leases cars to drivers at less than half the taxi rental rate, provided they undertake at least 40 Uber-assigned trips a week.

Rental group Prime Leasing has set up a similar operation, but its drivers are employees.

Mr. Ang, who is also an Ang Mo Kio GRC MP, said, "We've voiced our concerns to the Land Transport Authority. It says it is studying the issue. "It's an issue of a level playing field... Taxi companies are required to have a fleet that is well maintained... they make sure that things like brakes are working properly. In the end, this is cost, which is translated into rentals."

He also said taxi drivers have to undergo vocational training and re-training and satisfy various service indicators. "They are exposed to a lot of public scrutiny - so much so that when a cabby uses his cab to drive his daughter to school, people ask 'is that right?' But suddenly, we have a group of people who may be ex-cabbies, who may have been banned because of disciplinary action, who may have criminal records, who don't have health checks - they're now operating these 'limo' services," he said.

But National University of Singapore Transport Researcher Lee Der-Horng said companies like Uber are merely being innovative, and 'as long as they abide by the law and, given the essence of shared economy, why not?' He said firms such as Uber complement taxis, especially during peak hours.