By Yvonne Cheong, Channel NewsAsia
Comfort was the safest cab to ride in in Singapore - at least in
the first quarter of this year.
This is based on the Traffic Police's investigations on accidents
involving taxis during that period.
The taxi company was the only one to meet the standard of having
not more than two accidents for every 10 million kilometres
travelled.
CityCab, SMRT Taxis, Yellow-Top Cab and Trans-Cab Services met the
requirement for two out of the three months.
Premier Taxis and Smart Automobile managed to do so only in one
month and will each be fined $1,000.
The accident rate standard is set by the Land Transport
Authority.
Generally, most of the companies had improved from the previous
quarter.
In the fourth quarter of last year, six out of seven taxi companies
failed this requirement and were fined.
For radiophone bookings and quality of service, five of the seven
taxi companies met the standards set for the period from April to
June this year.
Smart Automobile and Trans-Cab were both fined for not meeting
service standards for radiophone bookings.
They did not pick up calls on time, and Smart also did not have
enough cabs.
Taxi companies are required to answer at least 90% of calls.
Trans-Cab was fined $7,290 while Smart Automobile was fined
$8,400.
Their fines were also double what were imposed in the previous
quarter - which was $3,000 for Trans-Cab and $4,000 for
Smart.
CityCab did better this time round after having to pay a penalty of
$24,600 in the first quarter.
Smart says its small fleet of 500 makes it difficult to cope with
demand, and it is planning to outsource its radiophone booking
service.
Trans-Cab, on the other hand, plans to increase its phone lines
from the current four to 14. - CNA/ir