With diesel costing nearly as much as petrol, one taxi operator
has reckoned it may now be commercially viable to run a fleet of
petrol cabs.
Prime Taxis, the newest kid on the block with a fleet of more
than 200 compressed natural gas (CNG cabs), will put 20 Honda Freed
eight-seaters on the road in about a onth's time.
Prime managing director Neo Nam Heng believes the 1.5-litre
Freed is more fuel-efficient than the 2-and 3-litre diesel cabs
that form the bulk of taxi fleets in Singapore.
He estimates the Freed, unveiled last month in Japan, will go
100km on $14 worth of fuel; the bigger diesel cabs need $16 worth
of fuel to go that distance.
The Freed is also cheaper to buy, so Mr Neo will be renting each
out to cabbies for between $69 and $75 a day. Most cabbies now pay
between $85 and $100 daily.
"The demand for multi-seater cabs is high," Mr Neo noted.
And cabbies here are allowd to charge a dollar extra for every
passenger beyond four. Prime will also save on the $5,100 annual
"special tax" that each diesel cab attracts.
Unlike in CNG cabs, seating and luggage space in the Freed will
not be compromised by a gas tank.
"Like in some countries, diesel here will, in the future, be
costlier than petrol," Mr Neo said.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Freed