An Email from Gareth
O'Brien to The Straits Time
RECENT discussions on Singapore's taxi woes seem to
overcomplicate the issue.
The problem is obvious: There
are not enough taxis during peak periods (good for cabbies, bad for
customers), and far too many outside these periods (bad for
cabbies, good for customers).
The solution is clear: Recruit
part-time taxi drivers to cater to customers during peak periods,
without hurting full-time cabbies outside these periods. Let one of
the taxi operators run "grey taxis", whose drivers must be retirees
over the age of 65 and who are willing to work only
part-time.
To start with, park 2,000 of
these cabs at HDB carparks islandwide, and offer them for rental to
these retirees at much lower rates compared with those for regular
taxis.
The driver can book a grey
taxi online, collect it and drive it only from 6.30am to 10am, and
5.30pm to 9pm.
The service would offer
part-time work for retirees, avoid competing with full-time cabbies
during non-peak hours, and benefit passengers.
Gareth O'Brien
有人建议推出“灰色德士”，让退休人士以较便宜的租金租下，但只可在繁忙时间开上路，以减缓德士在繁忙时段供不应求的情况。
有关如何平衡德士供求的讨论延烧，公众盖雷特（Gareth
O’Brien）致函《海峡时报》建议，推出一些“灰色德士”，让它们只能在繁忙时间，例如早上6时30分到10时，及傍晚5时30分到9时间上路。
这些司机的收入会较低，因此他们付的租金应该也比其他德士司机低得多，一些65岁以上的退休人士可考虑加入，赚点外快。
盖雷特建议，为了让兼职司机有更灵活的工作时间，德士公司可把2000辆“灰色德士”停在全岛的组屋区停车场，兼职司机可以上网预订，再去取车。
洪鼎基：浪费资源没经济效益。
this guy got business mind? invest taxi n only rent out during
peak hour? 妙想天开。
