SINGAPORE - If you hail one of 300 new Chevrolet Epica taxis
operated by TransCab, expect to see a flag-down fare of $3.60 on
the meter.
The transport operator rolled out a new fleet of such taxis in
January this year and raised the flag-down fares for these cabs by
20 cents from $3.40.
The fare hike was due to higher Certificate of Entitlement (COE)
prices at the time, said TransCab general manager Jasmine Tan
yesterday.
She said the COE for the new fleet of taxis in January was about
$90,000 per car, up from about $50,000 previously.
Some 1,000 taxis of the same model that TransCab rolled out in
September 2011 continue to have a flag-down fare of $3.40.
Commuters will be able to differentiate the new taxis from the old
by the colour of their window rims.
The older taxis have white window rims and white tops while the
newer ones have red window rims instead.
The rise in COE prices is why rental rates for drivers differ for
the two types of cabs as well, Ms Tan explained. The new ones cost
drivers $123.05 a day, compared to $115.56 for the old.
A print advertisement about the change was placed in The New Paper
in January, but the TransCab website does not display the new
flag-down fares.
The change has caught commuters by surprise. Marketing executive
Stephanie Lim, 25, who takes a taxi to work every day, said: "The
difference in the appearances of the two cabs is minimal. It is not
right to just raise fares like that, especially for the same type
of cab." TransCab is the second-largest operator here with 4,300
taxis.
ComfortDelGro also rolled out 10 Hyundai i-40 taxis in December
last year with a higher flag-down fare of $3.50 as part of a
six-month trial. The largest taxi operator here could not be
reached for comment despite repeated attempts yesterday.
Mr Ang Hin Kee, adviser for the National Taxi Association, pointed
out that taxi companies find it challenging to fix flag-down fares
due to the "unpredictable" nature of COE prices.
He said he has been urging the Land Transport Authority to view
taxis as a form of public transport and to review the COE system
for them.
Public Transport Council chairman Gerard Ee said that flag-down
fares are not regulated and are subject to market forces.
"At the end of the day, it is about market demand. If people don't
want to use the more-expensive ones, then operators certainly won't
want to keep buying them and raising fares," he said.
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