The Land Transport Authority received more than 100 applications for taxi permits before a freeze was placed in 2011.

LTA Board Chair Vijay Maharaj says despite the lifting of the taxi permit freeze, under the Land Transport Regulations 2017, the applications for a new taxi permit will be made open when LTA calls for the application of new permits within a particular zone through advertisements.

Maharaj says they will appoint an independent committee that will be tasked to review taxi permit applications.

”Under the new system, there will be a new committee which will be looking at all the applications, and they will then decide who is entitled and who is not, and all those people who will apply, all their names will go in the barrel, and if they are lucky, their names come out of the barrel, those are the ones that will get it.”

He adds the announcement of the transport zones will be made through the media this Saturday.

Applications for new taxi permits will be called first for the Northern Division, followed by the West and the Central Division.