Despite our large fleet of 28,000 taxis already on the roads,
complaints surface regularly about commuters unable to get a cab
when they need one. LTA should continue looking into ways of
maximising the efficiency of cab usage beyond adding more to the
roads or mandating a minimum mileage for each cab. For example, it
can coordinate with taxi companies to manage a service that
increases cab drivers' chances of picking up more fares rather than
cruising empty while on shift. - See more at:
http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/story/taxi-hand-worth-two-road#sthash.INU5ZJlv.dpuf
SINGAPORE - I got my driving licence in 1998, but continued happily
taking cabs and public transport for a few more years.
I finally gave up on cabs in 2003. I still recall the exact moment
I swore to get my own car. It was raining and I stood outside my
office building in Toa Payoh, struggling with my umbrella, my
handbag and my heavy laptop bag, trying to flag a non-existent
cab.
I bought a second-hand car shortly after.
Ten years on, many commuters are facing the same problem of getting
cabs on rainy days and during peak hours. Taxi availability
returned to the news last week.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) decided to give taxi companies
another six months till December to meet service standards that
require 70 per cent of cabs to ply the roads during peak hours (7am
to 11am and 5pm to 11pm) and to ensure that 70 per cent of a cab
company's fleet clock a minimum daily mileage of 250km. The
proportions go up from next year.
The LTA's standards are a good first step towards tackling the
persistent mismatch: commuters who say they can't find cabs when
they need one, and drivers who spend hours cruising empty.
This is surprising given that there are 28,000 taxis run by seven
companies in Singapore. Cab numbers rose 47 per cent from 2003.
But taxi ridership has gone up only 16 per cent.
What this shows is that adding more cabs alone will not solve
Singapore's taxi problem. Instead, each cab already licensed must
be put to maximum, and more efficient, use.
The LTA's measures serve to increase only the quantity of cab hours
on the road, by requiring cabs to chalk up a minimum mileage and
ply during peak hours.
- See more at:
http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/story/taxi-hand-worth-two-road#sthash.INU5ZJlv.dpuf
