Commuters
form their own queues at no-stopping zones
Forget
about waiting at designated taxi stands along Orchard Road. Tired
of the long waits, frustrated commuters have taken to forming
unofficial queues, where they can often get a taxi within
minutes.
At least three such queues could be seen on a recent Friday night:
in front of Cathay Cineleisure and Mandarin Gallery on Grange Road,
and in front of Plaza Singapura as well as International Building
on Orchard Road.
Even though
cars are not allowed to stop at some of these spots, The Straits
Times spotted cabs picking up curb-side commuters there.
At Mandarin
Gallery, the cabs also caused a traffic snarl, as they were
blocking cars from entering the carpark there.
Mr Max Lim,
27, was one of about 15 people who were queuing for a cab between
Cathay Cineleisure and Mandarin Gallery at 10pm.
"Taxi stand
lines are super long. But I've never had a problem getting cabs
here," said the legal associate, who had walked over from the
nearby [email protected] mall. He got a cab in three minutes.
Others like
financial analyst Kenneth Poh, 27, said: "I just happened to see a
line here. It seemed to be moving quite fast so I thought, 'Why
not?'"
A Mandarin
Gallery spokesman said its security guards have tried to prevent
cabs from stopping there, as they make it difficult for cars to
turn into its carpark along Grange Road.
A spokesman for Cathay Organisation, which owns Cineleisure, said
its security guards "actively prevent" taxis from stopping along
the road there.
Cathay Cineleisure security guard Vijaya Velam, 25, said queues
usually start in the evenings, and get worse on
weekends.
"There'll
be a jam and it's hard for cars to come in. Cars behind will be
honking but the taxis won't move," she said.
Cabbies who pick up passengers along the double- yellow zig-zag
lines in front of Cathay Cineleisure and Mandarin Gallery are
flouting traffic rules, as these lines indicate that the stretch is
a no-stopping zone.
A Land Transport Authority spokesman said that "curb-side pick-ups
along CBD areas of Orchard Road are discouraged to minimise
disruptions to the flow of traffic".
Taxi
drivers who pick up or drop off passengers along bus lanes on
Central Business District roads during the bus lane operating hours
can be fined $130.
But some
still take the risk, like Mr Ngo Chong Kut, 50, even though he was
issued a ticket a month ago for a pick-up in front of Cathay
Cineleisure. "There are so many passengers here, and there is no
need to wait to pick them up," he said.
Fellow
cabby Francis Goh, 60, agreed: "It's better for business and more
convenient for people."
Over at
Plaza Singapura, the official cab stand behind the mall had 10
people queuing at 11pm on a Friday night, with an average wait of
10 minutes. Meanwhile, more than five cabs were lined up in the bus
lane in front of the mall.
Cabby C. S.
Lee, 57, said some drivers prefer to wait in front of the mall
instead of the stand.
"It's more
troublesome because you have to go one big round to turn into the
stand," he said.
