Back in the day, getting a taxi licence was very difficult.
They needed taxi drivers to be certified safe drivers, know their way around singapore, and not harrass passengers. So standards had to be high and the taxi driver instructors did not compromise. So getting a taxi licence was very difficult.
Liberating the taxi industry with apps has lowered standards. Now any chao ah beng can be taxi driver. They speed, drive recklessly, tailgate, take drugs while driving, smoke and drive with one hand, sexually harrass passengers. You see cars on the road with dents, faulty headlights, damaged rear or front bumpers due to collisions, it almost always is a PHV car.
Meanwhile the LTA and MOT scholars are like ostriches with head in the sand, cannot see what's happening. First class honours from Harvard but with sh*t for brains.