Circle line starts liao

ALN SG

how? slowly sure got impact to taxi biz…. esp day shift….when fully completed…. plus the other lines/ extension…

Poolman SG

Hope it really hit the cabby so much .... that many resign .

Then taxi lesser on the road , market share more , less competitions .

The best when ask why resign ?

Those quittors will answer : " Fare too expensive , comfort don't do anything . So go ."

kinwashi SG

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Hello Uncle...if this current situation stay...example, my last two outing of the week normal run.

6am to 4pm...normal shift me are getting very very low.

all my other kakis ....hey, the same....Lah.

Why?...ha... less than a hundred as low as fifty after deducting rental and diesel.

For us PT relief not a probelm, what about those season taxi drivers their regular job and depend on this income?

Poolman SG

it's a gamble ...

for the cabby and the taxi companies .

Cabbies still in control ....

Now not about earning salary , benefit to off-set high rental became a tools for us .

Let me say this one more time ...

A few years back , when the NE Line starts , many of my counterpart , worries , i thought otherwise ..... i said we have our own sets of customers . MRT and buses have theirs .

Not only the NEL not an impact , the taxi biz as good as ever , if not better that time .

So MRTs and buses not the issue now .

It's the pricing ....

Now since Comfort increased the fare , they never fare any better . It got worst for them ..

Stuck with more Comfort Crowns ..... has to succumb to giving extra benefits , and lure drivers for low diesel , and now giving referal fees ... a sign of desperations .

Let's see how long they last . I expect them to reduce fare .... to our likings , not theirs .

Poolman SG

plus new taxi company coming , and TransCab Wish launching strongly .... let's see the good show .

sbst275 SG

it's saturated alrdy

dumbdumb! SG

eh. the entire circle line or just the few stations

AxelC SG

eh. the entire circle line or just the few stations

It's just a few stations across places between bartley >> bishan >> serangoon.

For more information, can read from this url:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/422710/1/.html

Information obtained in within the news:
- The 5.7-kilometre stretch of Circle Line has five stations - Bartley, Serangoon (interchange), Lorong Chuan, Bishan (interchange) and Marymount Stations.

Poolman SG

guys , take it as a challenge , create some brain storming for yourself .... test yourself into a higher level .... that's life of a cabby .

Keep asking : " What would i do if i am a commuter ? " Get answers from a customer's perspective , and adopt it into driving .

Since we are ready physically , now it's a mental challenge .

Keep asking yourself : " Does this Circle makes a difference ? Before Circle line , this area got many demand ? "

For me , it will not do me any diff , cos Circle Line before construction , i also hardly see any good demand for taxis ...

Now still the question is : Peak Hour surcharge , not Circle line that caused the problems .

KCTK SG

poolie got this hard-on for the peak hour surcharge. still mari-kita.

KCTK SG

imho, peak hour surcharge is good for day shift drivers but not nite shift ones. those who take taxis to work in the mornings (the regulars ones) LL die die still take cabs. cos not much choice (either inconvenient transport or just want to sleep longer). without the 35% surcharge, day shift drivers will be hard pressed to meet rental & diesel costs. after all it's only 2.5 hours. oso with the traffic jams on the mornings, each trip will take that much longer, so the 35% helps a lot. on the other hand, it doesn't work for nite shift drivers. not many people are in such a hurry to get home after work that they have to take a cab. so evening peak hours are bad for business. throw in the evening traffic jams and that's more reason not to take cabs during this time. so poolie, two sides of the coin ah.

personally, i think that removing the peak hour surcharge will not result in more pax in the mornings (at least not substantially). BUT, it'll do wonders for the evening peak hours. then again, i'm just a taxi-lo.

thelionsleepstonight SG

taxi drivers are not regulated or are there too many taxis.

in places where there were many on-call bookings because there were a scarcity of cabs, now you find taxis queueing for pax, therefore no more calls. example; science parks use to have so many calls, instead now you find empty taxis cruising for paxs.

cbd areas, because of the $3 surcharge you will see endless queues of taxis waiting for pax at taxis stands. use to be, my mdt will ring non-stop because of the endless calls coming in.

this cbd surcharge really kill much business for the comfort call centre. before we can see their boasts of how many thousand calls go through their call centre in a month but now nary even a word of how they are doing. (now they even have to ration their calls to their members, they can be LOSING GRIP in this business....COMFORT TAKE NOTE).

if all taxis don't go into cbd and create a over supply but wait outside for calls, will the demand go up?

thelionsleepstonight SG

on the other hand LTA did a very good job of creating a over supply of taxis in the cbd during the evening hours by imposing the $3 surcharge.

they satisfied the complaints of not having to get a taxis in the cbd, now there are too many. SCARING away many would be taxi commuters in the process. it works, now the "surcharge $3 too expensive potential taxi commuters" takes the train and buses, making the LTA plans of more people taking public transport (taxis not included) a success. more buses and trains to cope with the increased demand.

poor taxi drivers are now left in the cold. more buses, bus lanes and more traffic jams but no paxs. taxi fares are so 'expensive' now that commuters think it is better to save on it and buy a car. a trip from tuas to the east of singapore costs $40 to $50 dollars during peak hours, enough money to buy a car. so they buy car, more cars more traffic jams. poor taxi drivers now poorer.

thelionsleepstonight SG

HA! now bus lanes. I just got a picture of my taxi taken. waiting to pay for the developing fees.

3 to 3 maybe even 5 buses arriving at the same bus stop at the same time causing huge traffic snarl-ups. buses travelling on the outer lanes when they have their bus lanes causes more snarls.

me, a lowly not recognised as public transport taxi-driver trying to make some income have to filter into a bus lane because of the traffic jams the buses are causing because they are in the outer lanes have to forfeit 2 days income because I am in their lanes. all this because of the increased demands for public transport (taxis not included) by raising taxi fares disproportionately.

thelionsleepstonight SG

So many complaints. But taxi driving still can make a living albeit classified under the low income category.

Taxi driving as a career is not about skill but your luck to pick up customers at the right places and the right time.

You can maximise your chances by being at the right place at the right time but the odds of having 5 to 10 taxis at the right place and the right time is also very high. With so much less paxs now your odds of picking up one really does depends on your luck.

ALN SG

yo lion, tough week?

the bus lane can appeal lah…. me also kena 2 tue ago…. reasoned with warden on the spot… he said he deleted my picture liao….

Poolman SG

taking off the peak hour surcharge ... i dun wan 100% old pax to come back , just 30% , will make my day .

Just 30 .