Payoff for cabbies who braved blocked roads
WITH the $5-surcharge for pick-ups at designated locations
near the track and more than 40,000 visitors in town, some cabbies
had a bumper weekend.
Comfort taxi driver Chia Aik Meng said his earnings in the last
three days had increased, despite the extra hours spent caught in
congestion caused by the roadblocks.
“The surcharge did help to offset my costs in fuel and jams. I
mainly picked up passengers from Raffles City and the Pan Pacific
(hotel). There were a lot more tourists in town, so I just went
around to these hotels and picked up passengers,” he told
Today.
CityCab taxi driver Yeo Teng Teck said his earnings rose a
little, but not as much as he had hoped, no thanks to the road
closures along Beach Road. He had better luck picking up passengers
on Orchard Road.
But others, likeCityCab taxi driver Mimi Miskiah Solihin, 59,
complained that her takings had dropped 20 per cent.
“I was stuck in a jam on Nicoll Highway on the first day for one
hour. I thought it would be better the next few days, but there
were a lot of roadblocks. So I would only go in if there was a
booking,” she said.
Other taxi drivers, too, prefered to cruise in the suburbs and
avoid downtown altogether.
SMRT cabbie Leow Lian Chong, however, said the traffic situation
was not that bad; he had driven to Suntec City a few times. He
said: “This is Singapore’s first Grand Prix, it is worth the little
inconvenience.” - TODAYonline
