SINGAPORE - Many cities around the
world regulate their taxi industries to ensure cabs fulfil their
role as a bridge between public and private transport.
Many actually limit taxi supply by issuing
licences. In Hong Kong and New York for instance, licences are
traded in the open market. City regulators also set
service standards. In London, would-be cabbies need to study for a
stringent exam, which typically takes two to four years to
pass.
In New York, fleet owners must ensure
their cabs are on two nine-hour shifts per day, while in Dubai,
taxi franchises must ensure that 93 per cent of cabs are available
during peak hours.
In Singapore, the taxi industry went
from being unregulated before 1970 - where non-metered "pirate
taxis" roamed - to a tightly regulated one.
Union-based NTUC Comfort was formed in
1970 to rein in an unruly trade that compromised the safety of
commuters and other road users.
By the 1990s, two other smaller players
emerged: ST Automotive's CityCab and Mr Ng Ser Miang's Tibs.
NTUC Comfort became Comfort Group and
eventually ComfortDelGro. It also bought a share in CityCab. Tibs
was bought over by SMRT.
In 1998, taxi fares were deregulated.
In 2003, the industry was liberalised, and the size - and variety -
of taxi companies were no longer restricted.
This year, after a 47
per cent surge in the taxi population, the Government is
capping the growth rate once again.