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Just spent 3 days in Singapore. Looks like the economic troubles
are finally hitting hard. Recessionary times indeed.
Government appears to be struggling to keep the place in good
shape. They are taking actions, ofcourse. Dipping into a country’s
reserves can be the most serious action a nation could possibly
take, and Singapore is taking that drastic action. Do I agree ? No.
But I am currently not living in Singapore, so my direct ability to
comment is significantly reduced.
I saw in the Friday newspapers (20th Feb) that public
transportation costs are being cut by an average 4.6%. Not a big
drop, but Singapore always believes in small, incremental,
non-damaging steps. I asked myself, what about the ridiculous taxi
fares in these difficult times ?
I saw firsthand the impact of the economic problems on the roads
and in the shopping mall across from my hotel. It was always a
difficult proposition to get a taxi in Singapore, though per capita
taxi population could be one of the highest in the world. Now, I
saw plenty of taxis available on the road, with the green lights
on. There were few takers, though.
Why ?
Taxis are expensive in Singapore. For a distance of less than 7
Kms, I had to pay S$ 11.60 which included a 35% peak surcharge at
7:40 AM ! First, I do not agree that 7:40 AM is “peak traffic”
time. Secondly, I do not agree with the surcharge. It looked like
the “congestion levy” charged by the airlines in India. Why should
an average passenger suffer because there is congestion or peak
traffic on the roads ? In any case, the meter runs and charges a
high fare, despite the oil price cuts.
Not only that, I got into a Hyundai Taxi in front of my hotel
yesterday. And the minimum fare showed as S$ 3.00, instead of the
usual S$ 2.80. I did not like it, and asked the driver why ? And,
in the usual sarcastic tone so charateristic of Singapore Taxi
Drivers, he responded saying, “hey, look at the seats, these are
real leather, further see there is no engine sound, you get a
smooth solid noiseless ride”, thinking probably in his mind, these
folks do not enjoy such rides in their respective countries and
they complain when they come here ! I was surprised when he further
said that it is the reason why the fare is slightly higher, so in
fact, the fare was higher than the previous two days. I paid S$
12.95 instead of the S$ 11.60 I had paid previously.
Just ridiculous, to say the least ! Hotels colluding with taxis
to charge their guests a higher taxi fare, without proper notice
being displayed that the victims will be paying a higher fare. Not
acceptable in a “clean” city like Singapore.
The other day, when I pointed out to the lady taxi driver that
Singapore’s taxi fares are on the higher side, she got angry ! She
said, “No, the fares are not high, infact the fare should be higher
!”. She kept shaking her head vigorously, thinking probably, these
passengers are useless……
Well, there is no choice folks : fares will need to be cut, and
you all would see that soon enough. Otherwise taxi users will drop
hugely, leading to retrenchment of drivers by Income and Tibs and
other operators. That is my considered opinion. Plus, do not levy
these surcharges or penalties on taxi users – these are not right
economic tools. People will desist from using your mode of
transport despite need. And that would be the start of the
“depression”.
Hope the right sense gets to their collective heads !
Have a wonderful week ahead,
Cheers
Vijay Srinivasan
22nd Feb 2009
Mumbai
See...lah an old article, but like this kind of passenger, will
you welcome him.
Time is Money.