FARES UP, BUT WAITING TIME STILL a bother
Leong Wee Keat and Ansley Ng
[email protected]
BLAME it on the rain or the festive rush.
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But even as new taxi charges by market-leader ComfortDelGro kicked
in yesterday, aimed in part at driving up the supply of cabs during
peak hours in the city area, some commuters found themselves having
to pay 10 to 49 per cent more while still having to wait in
frustration for an elusive ride.
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At about 10.30pm, queues of at least 20 people formed at taxi
stands in front of Centrepoint and the Meritus Mandarin. Vacant
taxis without on-call signs, meanwhile, were spotted cruising the
streets without stopping for passengers.
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Among the 25 people at the Ngee Ann City taxi stand was English
tourist Jean Collier, who was fed up after having waited an hour.
"I would have made other arrangements had I known," she said.
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The situation was better at Paragon, where Ms Joyce Ang got a cab
after waiting for 20 minutes, a little quicker than previously.
"But I thought given the new fare structure it would be faster. And
I don't see why there should be empty cabs cruising," she told
Today.
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Earlier in the evening, taxi stands in the Shenton Way and Orchard
areas sported a steady stream of commuters who clearly were not
ready to abandon the idea of travelling in comfort. Despite having
to pay $30.55 for the trip from Ngee Ann City to her Pasir Ris
home, Mdm Patricia Chan who had three bags of Christmas shopping
and two children in tow the convenience was "still worth
it".
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After-office-hours commuters said waiting times were about the same
as or in some cases, slightly faster than before the fare hike.
Two commuters who had joined the queue at International Plaza along
Anson Road after 6.30pm said the 15-minute average waiting time was
"normal".
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Sales executive Serene Tay, who works at Lucky Plaza, said: "It
felt like the queue moved faster. Perhaps taxis were eager to cash
in on the new fares and the festive crowd."
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ComfortDelGro, which operates 65 per cent of the 23,000 taxis in
Singapore, yesterday became the first taxi company here to raise
flag-down rates and meter fares. It also tripled the city area
surcharge and introduced a 35-per-cent peak period premium.
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The hike did seem to give some taxi drivers added incentive to pick
up passengers in the crowded city area.
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Between 5pm and 6pm at Lucky Plaza (picture), Today observed that
passengers got a taxi within an average of eight minutes slightly
faster than last month's average waiting time of 10 minutes, as
recorded by the Land Transport Authority.
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Ironically, about 150m away at Far East Plaza located just
outside the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) zone at least seven
taxis waited without a passenger in sight. This might explain why
some taxi drivers in vacant cabs were willing to incur the $2
charge of entering the ERP zone.
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Taxi driver Akman Marmin explained: "You pay $2, but if I pick up a
passenger, I stand to get back $3, which means a profit for me."
Another driver, Mr Neo, said there were "a lot more" passengers
waiting in the city than on the fringes.
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In fact, ComfortDelGro's offer of full ERP rebates to drivers who
do not manage to pick up passengers within 15 minutes of entering
the zone during evening prime hours was incidental to them.
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So, have the revised fares helped to up cabbies' takings, as they
were meant to do?
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Reactions were mixed. Mr Tan Meng How, who has been driving for 15
years, said he made only six passenger trips yesterday, down from
the usual 10.
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And despite the appearance of business as usual at taxi stands
yesterday, drivers feared the "crunch" could come after Chinese New
Year in February.
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"Commuters are now in the festive mood and many will be armed with
bonuses, so, they will be more willing to spend," said Comfort taxi
driver T C Looi. "After the Chinese New Year, people would tighten
their purse strings."
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Meanwhile, ComfortDelGro which cut current call booking fees by
50 cents to $2.50 saw a drop in bookings during the morning peak
hours, which it called an expected "knee-jerk" reaction. There were
20 per cent fewer call bookings compared to last Monday.
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Interestingly, the higher fees have also affected other taxi
operators yet to raise their fares. The second-largest operator,
SMRT, reported getting 200 fewer calls between 7am and 9am,
compared to last Monday.
Leong Wee Keat and Ansley Ng
[email protected]
