Human Error Causes Premature Disclosure of Ride-Hailing Lock-In Regulation in Singapore

In Singapore, an unintended mistake caused public confusion when a message outlining a new three-year lock-in period for vehicles assigned to ride-hailing services was disclosed prematurely. Senior Minister of State for Transport, Amy Khor, confirmed during a parliamentary session on Monday, March 3, that human error was responsible for the early leak.

Specifically, the error originated from the IT services provider NCS. The team tasked with updating the system implemented changes incorrectly, thus revealing confidential information ahead of schedule. According to Dr Khor, the oversight occurred because critical code segments controlling the timing and designated audience of the notification were omitted during the update deployment.

Consequently, certain drivers using the digital platform for related vehicle transactions were unintentionally exposed to details about the regulatory changes. Addressing concerns raised by Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa, who had questioned the circumstances behind the incident and the possibility of an investigation, Minister Khor assured parliament that measures had since been introduced by NCS to prevent similar occurrences in future.